Anyone can start a business. It’s easy; write out a few things, set up a website and domain and you are good to go. Really, even the out of pocket expense is minimal. One can easily find $10 hosting with a domain, and with that comes a large abundance of business ventures.
Due to this easy nature, there are of course a lot of business out there vying for customers. Most will sink quickly, and others may falter a bit but still succeed, or maybe if there is a lot of luck at play they will succeed right off the bat and keep growing.
Having a good business, is a huge undertaking. One may be tempted to buy into one of the many fly by night operations or even employ some shady business practices, but that would signal the death knell fairly quickly. Especially considering that many of the shadier practices will do little more than alienate any customers you already have.
While there is no ‘secret’ to a business’ success, at least nothing guarded by armed men and only told to a select few, a surprisingly large portion of people will quickly become frustrated and turn to a fairly shady avenue that they may hope will bring them success.
So, what is the solution?
Patience:
It takes time to get a business to grow. If your product or service is worth it, it will be able to last, of course you do need good marketing methods in place and some tenacity as well,
Effort:
The more effort you put into your business the more you are giving it a chance, don’t simply ‘set it and forget it’ but work on it, write up blog posts and refine your overall networking, social, and marketing approaches.
Customer Service:
It don’t take too much to lose customers and faith in your business. Heck, a simple search can reveal a lot. Good customer service and an approach based on the customer and their satisfaction can help you get further than anything shady can. A good customer will stick around and come back.
1) Answer your phone.
2) Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them.
3) Listen to your customers.
4) Deal with complaints.
5) Be helpful – even if there’s no immediate profit in it.
6) Train your staff (if you have any) to be ALWAYS helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable.
7) Take the extra step.
(Source: About.com)
I’d like to add in: Believe in your product. No matter what it is, if it is something you aren’t sure about yourself, you shouldn’t be selling it. No matter if it is anything from furniture to eBooks, if it isn’t of any actual use- avoid it.
In a nutshell: If it is something you wouldn’t use, or even believe in- don’t push it to others.
What would you like to see in a business? Is there something that should be avoided (or even encouraged) that isn’t mentioned? Tell about it in the comments!
