It’s not the Size that Matters, It’s how You Use It!

Fri, 20 Jun 2014, in Business

If you’re a small or medium sized business, you are likely feeling the squeeze of your larger competitors. Not only are they underpricing you but they’re also trying to edge in on your customer base. Is there a way out?

photo credit ruthanddave

A larger company has more resources to attract and market to their chosen user base. The big guys also have access to discounted suppliers to outbid you in a price war and a more diversified offering to stay afloat during difficult times. And that’s not the only thing to worry about – what if they have offices across the globe?

It seems like there’s no competing with the big guys club who are growing even bigger by the day.

A small business is easier to control

The way a small business and a large business are structured is very different. It would be like comparing an ocean liner to a 5 person speedboat. A cruise ship has a theater, numerous swimming pools and spas to cater to everyone’s needs, while a speedboat is just powerful enough to venture a few miles into the sea. Just like in business, both of these vessels do what they are meant to do, that is transfer people over water. The speedboat, however, is a lot more agile and requires a fraction of maintenance and skill to operate.

A small business can adapt to the marketplace

Large companies are bogged down by multiple layers of management, and a simple decision requires multiple approvals and oversight by different individuals. It’s difficult to deviate from “policy” and most customer service operations have to follow a strict code of conduct.

A small business owner, on the other hand has direct say and usually an ear out to fellow employees and consumers. The ability to take ideas and quickly implement them to gather feedback can give small businesses an advantage.

This ability to take opportunity and run with it is what makes small businesses agile enough to out maneuver their larger brethren in our competitive marketplace. With a smaller time-to-market, small companies get in on innovative ideas first and therefore grab their slice of the pie before everyone else catches on.

A small business provides better customer service

It’s no secret that customers trust small businesses more. Most Americans (71 percent) trust their small businesses more than they trust their government, their church or even their newspaper, according to the 2012 study by Pew Research Center.  A 2014 Edelman Study dug a little deeper and found similar findings: In North America, family-owned (85 percent), small-and medium-sized (78 percent) businesses are far more trusted than big business (45 percent).

What does all this mean? The general public genuinely believes that small businesses care about their product and their service. That sort of belief is hard to shake off.

With a smaller team, there is more human service. With a small chain of command between the business owner and the customer, crucial problems and get solved much quicker. This is because small businesses can set “executive decisions” in action, while large companies need to delegate issues between many levels of management. In the end, customers can get agitated and choose to look elsewhere.

Picking out the right customer service software

Picking out the right customer service software for small businesses can be a challenge. Small businesses often have needs similar to those of large businesses in terms of integrations and service functionality in their software. Small businesses, however, may have a smaller support staff and therefore less support to provide. In order for small businesses to provide a high level of customer support visible in the larger counterparts, they require highly capable help desk software like Helprace to make the most of their existing manpower and capabilities. To find out more, we invite you to take a look at our tour.

Tags: business