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November 30 marks the 15th Small Business Saturday, an annual shopping holiday founded by American Express in 2010 and officially cosponsored by the SBA since 2011. Consumers spent approximately $17 billion last year, and it's not too late for your small business to do big things this weekend. We connected with Jennifer Van Buskirk, EVP & GM Mid-Markets at AT&T Business, to get her insights on customer service strategies that will help you make the most of this massive opportunity. Here are her top five tactics:
Related: How One Wine Shop Makes the Most of Small Business Saturday: 'Every Year Our Revenue Goes Up'
1. People shop at small businesses for the unique — give them specific, differentiated offerings.
It takes such bravery to start a small business, and there's a huge opportunity to embrace that bravery and take a unique approach to your offerings. It's a compelling value proposition to be able to say to a consumer that they can't find your product or service anywhere else in the area, and it's also a way to find higher-margin opportunities. My family tries not to vacation in the same place twice — there's something very powerful about knowing you're entering an entirely new and different experience. Even if a customer hasn't set out to look for it, uniqueness is a powerful draw for consumers of all types.
2. Remember that the person-to-person interaction is your marketing!
Smart trade-offs are everything as you grow. Whether it's talking on the phone, face-to-face, or even on digital chat (which is growing in adoption for even small businesses), having a meaningful connection with your customer that goes beyond the transaction grows consideration and retention. Dialogue improves the core economics of your business. When you are dealing with a customer, be 100% present and focus on fostering authentic, lasting relationships.
3. Learn from your customer's pain points.
Establish a culture that rewards uncovering customer pain points — celebrate the messenger. Anytime you see confusion or moments of hesitation, there's a growth opportunity for your company. Leverage insights from sales, customer service, support teams and social media managers who interact with customers daily. Ask them for patterns they notice. Ask customers if there's anything they wish you offered but don't or if there's any way you can make their life easier. Of course, track your social media and digital footprint closely, but do the same for your competitors. This is a powerful way to identify patterns that might be relevant for your business, now or down the road. Be married to your vision but not the path to get there — focusing on your customer is the best path to success.
Related: Small Business Saturday: How to Prepare for Online Sales Ahead of the Holiday Shopping Season
4. The key to making growth sustainable is focusing on customer loyalty.
A key lesson I've learned is that businesses tend to focus on new customers, but the way to keep your business special is to make sure that no one is treated better than existing customers. The first step in customer loyalty is ensuring a consistent customer experience. Think through every step of their journey. Every customer's experience shouldn't be exactly the same, but each step should be filtered through the same criteria. One thing that both very small and very scaled businesses are often the best at is being highly detailed about who their customers are. Social proof — customer testimonials and reviews — is remarkably important. Look for ways to surprise and delight your most loyal customers to build goodwill and encourage loyalty. For the holidays, does this mean holding back a few units just in case a valued customer comes in at the last minute?
5. Stay focused on what you do best.
You can't be all things to all people and do it well. The path to sustainable growth starts with knowing how you will differentiate your business in the market and stay true to that core mission. Complexity is inevitable and it's easy for businesses to get distracted by trying to meet each customer's needs and wants—often to the detriment of their core customer base. Simplicity takes hard work, discipline, and the ability to make smart trade-offs. But those trade-offs pay off in the end with a strong market position, engaged customer base, and growing business.
