• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

It’s hard to ask for help, isn’t it?

By Becky McCray

It’s hard to ask for help, isn’t it? We hate to admit we need help. It hurts our pride. We hate to let go of our independence and control. All of that is scary.

If it’s hard for you to ask for help, imagine how hard it is for your customers.

Advice Shop in Edinburgh, Scotland

Set up your own Advice Shop for customers.

That makes it your job to make it easier for them to ask, or to help themselves. Here are a few ways to do that.

1. Provide self-service help

Don’t make them ask at all. Just let them help themselves.

  • Post detailed descriptions of products online.
  • Post descriptions of products in your store.
  • Add more answers to your FAQ (frequently asked questions).

2. Make it easier to ask

Even if you think you’re easy to approach with questions, you can make it more user-friendly.

  • Ask customers, “what questions can I help you with today?” 
  • Add a large, obvious link to your website: “Questions?? Ask them here.”
  • With everything you sell, throw in 30 minutes of free question and answer time.

3. Help customers to help each other

Your customers are the real experts. They come up with ides you’ll never think of. By helping them to connect, you’ll benefit with more smart ideas.

  • Be a social media mirror, and reflect customer stories back to your community.
  • Open up comments on your website, and promote this opportunity to interact to your customers.
  • Ask questions of your customers, and pass along questions others have asked you.

Keep in mind that customers have the same worries and feeling as you and me. They hate to admit they don’t know something. They don’t like to look ignorant. Just changing a few words in your approach can make it much easier for them. We found at our store that if we asked, “What can I help you find?” people would deflect that question. But when we say, “What can I help you locate?” customers seem to respond better. It feels less threatening. It’s not that you can’t find it, just that you can’t locate it right now.

If I simple word change like that can help in our store, what words can you change to help your customers?

Thanks to Susan T. Blake, @susantblake, for her tweet that inspired this post:
“And if it’s hard for us to ask for help, think how hard it is for our customers.”

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.

  • About the Author
  • Latest by this Author
Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

www.beckymccray.com
  • Will trendy axe throwing and escape room businesses last? More experience-based retail: the Hat Bar
  • Create customer experiences online like Open the Shop With Me videos, and in person, like Silent Book Club
  • How to let customers know when changing your business hours

March 18, 2013 Filed Under: customer service, entrepreneurship, Small Biz 100

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses. Logo with "Shop Indie Local"Move Your Money, bank local, invest localMulticolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week"Save Your Town logotype

Best of Small Biz Survival

A few people shopping in an attractive retail store in refurbished downtown building.

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Three kids in a canoe

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence

Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2025 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in