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What Makes Your Business Special? |
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Business Unusually |
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Collaboration Small businesses need promotional, financial, and staffing resources they can’t provide alone. Collaboration with other small businesses allows them to develop and share resources. This collaboration must extend beyond informal conversation at Chamber of Commerce meetings. It must be formal and include a budget and contract. Such collaboration won’t stymie competition; it will increase it by supporting the viability and expansion of small businesses. If they offer similar products and services, they will be prompted to diversify and innovate in order to attract and retain customers. Empty storefronts only serve to diminish the image and patronization of nearby businesses. They attract vandals and decrease the property value and tax base of a community. Formal Business Networking Small businesses will need to increase their efforts to establish relationships in their community. Families in which two parents work have curtailed much recreational shopping on main street. Malls have become so large, that the shopping experience there is impersonal. Main street businesses must offer organized social events to draw customers and create community. Sidewalk sales, parades, and block parties are insufficient. Events must be smaller, more formal, and permit people to become acquainted. Identity or branding must be more than membership in the Chamber of Commerce or a geographically-based business district. The network must develop relationships among and between community members and businesses. Those relationships must be defined and publicly acknowledged. Web-Based Even small local businesses must have a presence online. At the very least, a web site is a source of contact information and business hours. It should also provide a detailed description of the products and services offered. If appropriate, prices or price ranges should be included. A web site can increase the utility of face-to-face time because the customer has already identified the business as a provider of the products or services he or she needs. Small businesses should also offer their products and services to as wide a range of customers as possible. Online stores are ideal for retailers; even restaurants can market packaged products, take-out delivery, and reservations online. Online malls and catalogs can create an identity or brand for communities and small businesses. Customer service can be expedited with the use of e-mail and chat rooms. Planning These efforts must be structured by a strategic plan which includes measures of their outcomes. Projections to sustain the process must be calculated and updated routinely. equires a different kind of thinking. Families have changed, so have their communities. The new needs of families and communities have created new opportunities for businesses. Success requires becoming adept with innovative methods of collaborating, networking, and marketing. We can help you create, develop, implement, and test a customized business model. It will suit your organizational culture, industry, and community. It will also raise the profile of your business as a provider of outstanding products and services. Let us bring our combined expertise in social research and strategic planning to your business. We offer a complimentary consultation and a customized proposal. Contact us today for your own. |
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© Business Unusually, 2010 |
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Connect the Dots for Greater Success Cutting Edge Management Postmodern Marketing Collaborative Opportunities Business and Community Stability Greater Economies and Profits |
