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Small Biz Survival

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Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • Know your customers: What do they want to be good at?
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    Know your customers: What do they want to be good at?

    ByBecky McCray March 25, 2019March 23, 2019

      A few weeks ago, we talked about knowing your customers in order to help them answer questions they get asked. This week, get to know your customers better by thinking through what they want to be good at. What do your customers want to be good at? You help customers all the time. The…

    Read More Know your customers: What do they want to be good at?Continue

  • Know your customer: Who’s asking them questions?
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | social media

    Know your customer: Who’s asking them questions?

    ByBecky McCray February 11, 2019February 24, 2019

      You know I’m a big fan of answering customer questions. That’s been part of my marketing advice for 10 years now. Should I blog for my small business? Yes, answer customer questions Talk less about you, more about them Top small business blogging questions answered But there’s a deeper layer to serving your customers….

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  • Small Biz 100 | success

    Is This Service?

    ByGlenn Muske June 13, 2018June 12, 2018

    If this happened to you as a customer, how would you feel? Our washer has a problem. Service person came out and ordered a part for it. Part should be here in two weeks and made the next appointment. The day before the appointment, I get an automated call. If my issue was a service…

    Read More Is This Service?Continue

  • If you help your customers to create a plan, don’t leave out this essential item
    customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | Small Biz 100

    If you help your customers to create a plan, don’t leave out this essential item

    ByBecky McCray April 2, 2018March 25, 2018

      If part of the services you provide includes helping people make a plan, be sure you don’t stop there. If you don’t address this pitfall, it’s going to hurt your sales and hold potential customers back. The problem Everyday people, like your customers, want to have a plan, but they have an important doubt….

    Read More If you help your customers to create a plan, don’t leave out this essential itemContinue

  • rural | Small Biz 100 | success

    The Results and An Update on Service Expectations Question of Jan 18th

    ByGlenn Muske February 22, 2017February 8, 2017

    Just over a month ago, I asked for your help (see A Question: Service Expectations – Jan 18th). I thought I should share the thoughts given and an update on my situation. In brief, my question asked if employees of a food establishment should be able to guide me through the payment process using my…

    Read More The Results and An Update on Service Expectations Question of Jan 18thContinue

  • Small Biz 100 | success

    Your First Customer

    ByGlenn Muske October 19, 2016October 4, 2016

    The day is nearly here for you to open the doors of your new business. What a great feeling! Have you thought about who might be your first customer? Might I suggest that the first person should be your worst critic, or might I even say nightmare? That comment probably dampened your enthusiasm. Why start…

    Read More Your First CustomerContinue

  • Getting past the quote stage
    customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing

    Getting past the quote stage

    ByBecky McCray September 19, 2016September 27, 2016

      Ever have this problem: a potential customer says they’d like to buy from you. They even request a quote. But after you send that quote, you never hear back from them? A person working at an insurance agency told me about this one. I suggested that people really did want to buy from her,…

    Read More Getting past the quote stageContinue

  • Business idea: photo scanning service
    entrepreneurship | ideas | rural

    Business idea: photo scanning service

    ByBecky McCray March 21, 2016September 27, 2016

      Legions of people over 55 have boxes and boxes of old photos. They’d love to have them in albums or scanned into digital format, but they may not have the time, equipment or experience. Enter photo organization businesses. These are perfect for small towns and especially for younger people looking for a business that’s simple…

    Read More Business idea: photo scanning serviceContinue

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