Do small business owners have an advantage in customer service?
Yes, I call it the Small Business Advantage—the ability to change operations overnight. What’s more, the owner can get feedback directly from the customers. That’s something the big guys don’t have. Let’s talk about service-oriented small businesses are run out of the home (SoHos). How is customer service important for them? If anything, the expectations are higher. You have all the cost-saving benefits of working at home, yet you’re charging the same as a large company. So, customers will expect much for what they’re paying. Good service is also important because SoHo’s are dependent on word-of-mouth referrals. Not only do you want those customers to come back, but you also want them to bring other customers along. Any thoughts for monitoring and evaluating your customer service practices? As I mentioned earlier, small business owners have this great advantage of being able to talk to customers, but they don’t always ask the right questions. You need a mechanism to connect with custom
