Tuesday, 31 March 2015

It's people that matter!!

It never ceases to amaze me the number of small business owners that want to project an image of being a much bigger entity than they are. Do they really believe that being a small business is a bad thing? Does it make them less committed? Does it make them less reliable or trustworthy?  Of course not, quite the opposite I would say.

A small business owner is much more likely to care, much more likely to need you to pass his details on to others and will be much more grateful when you do. Running a small business can be a tough job, money can often be tight as prices get squeezed by the big boys and there are certainly not thousands or millions of pounds set aside for expensive marketing campaigns. 

So the small business needs are support. No big deal, we've known that for years and many of us try to support the small business when we make buying decisions which can only be a positive. I'm certainly happy to spend more to give my business to small independent businesses.

So why oh why are so many of these businesses launching glossy websites claiming to be a sizeable business offering an extensive range of services, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week??? If I need a tradesman I'm going to look for a small business so please don't hide behind a big frontage as I'm much less likely to call you!

If you're a plumber called Bob Smith who's been in the trade for twenty years then you are the guy for me. If you as Bob Smith call yourself Delta European Plumbing Solutions "plumbing and water flow engineering specialists" I really am not going to call.

Keep it small, keep it honest and keep it local, it really is what so many of us want.