Changing Public Perception

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If you are going to be successful in the long run in your business you are going to need to change public perception.

Now what public perception am I talking about?

The perception that the small business is inferior to large businesses. People have the misperception that small businesses have high priced, are run down and are an indication that the place you are located is going down hill.

Now in some cases this perception has been earned. There is plenty of examples of small businesses that have let their place run down and not took care of things. But then again I know of a major grocery store chain that sold several of their stores recently most of which are less than 5 years old and the new owners that are local are spending thousands of dollars in repairs for non-existent maintenance.

It is ironic that many people complain every day about the lack of service and poor quality at some of the major chains but continue to purchase the same products for those stores because they are "cheaper".

So how do you change this perception?

First of all this is not a perception that is going to change overnight. It has taken years for the perception to become ingrained in peoples minds so don't expect it to change tomorrow.

Second you need the power of word of mouth. If people experience that your business is clean, has friendly employees, and is taken care your customers will tell their friends about you.

Third, if your area has a locally owned business organization such as Local First Utah that is a group of small businesses working together to promote locally owned business you need to join. If your area does not have this type of organization think about creating one.

Not only will the organization is a way to market your business, but it is also an excellent opportunity to network with other small business owners to learn from their successes and mistakes.

You need to change the perception about small businesses.

Returns, Returns, Returns...

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On several occasions I have mentioned how important it is to have a good return policy. Too many small retailers fear the thought of returns and institute somewhat draconian measures to deal with that fear. While this may result in fewer returns it also results in fewer sales because the competitors have better return policies.

Many times a small retailer will only offer in store credit on returns and some even add a restocking fee on some transactions. This type of policy will only send customers to competitors because the big box stores and many on line retailers will give refunds on purchases.

Now lets take a look at an extreme example. Say a customer purchases $150,000 in product, and the needs to return $20,000 of that product. While this kind of return would seem to be devastating in its amount, it is close to the 10% mark that I suggest you keep out of your sales to compensate for possible returns.

While the return amount may be hard on you to deal with, your customer invested a great deal of money with you and it is important that you take care of them. If you are hard nosed about the return, how do you think that person will react and tell their friends? On the other had if you take care of the customer how will the customer react and what will be the information conveyed to the friends?

Remember, word of mouth advertising is one of your most important marketing tools at your disposal. Word of mouth can make or break a small business so it is important to keep it positive. While it is impossible to please everyone, making your return policies reasonable will go a long way to keep your customers coming back to you instead of going somewhere else.