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Small Businesses and Small Political Parties – What Can the Parties Learn?
They say good things come in little packages. But, in the world of business, does this ring true? Here Dayle Bayliss takes a look at the benefits of being small.Post war politics has been largely dominated by two parties in the UK – Conservative and Labour.
This two party system was then threatened by the Liberal Democrats who targeted local issues and local councils to build support in the grassroots.
It paid off and for the first time in a century a Liberal politician had made it to Government – albeit as part of a coalition.
Their success is unlikely to continue, but what they have shown is that concentrating on engaging with the people and tailoring their approach to meet the needs of the individual voter, is a great way to win support.
It’s an approach which has also been adopted by other smaller parties – UKIP for example or Germany’s Alternativ Deutschland, the True Finns and the Swedish Democrats.
They have benefitted from the anger and mistrust directed at the bigger parties.
Where politics meets business
In the same way that small political parties have advanced on the back of increased suspicion of the broken promises of more prominent party leaders, so too have small businesses advanced after the financial crisis.
The nation watched in horror as Lehman Brothers collapsed, filing for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008.
And the effect it had on the world’s economy was catastrophic.
What it seemed to show was that large organisations could get so big they forget about all the individuals that contribute to their success.
That they fail to react to demands because they have so many hoops to go through in which to make any change.
Why small companies win
This is where the beauty of the small business comes into play.
They are closer to the customer. They sit in the heart of the community. They are not faceless or impersonal or only contactable through a call centre.
This allows them to care more about their individual clients.
They can listen to feedback. They can taylor their products to the individual needs of the client.
And this level of engagement sets them apart from their larger competitors.
Putting your customer first
Customer service is the badge that every company wants to wear because satisfied customers remain loyal to you and recommend you to others.
So how do you keep customers happy?
Well communication is vital. It makes your customers feel valued and respected and establishes a level of trust which does not exist between a consumer and a big firm.
Conducting regular customer feedback surveys helps you get an honest assessment of your business from the people that matter and monitoring the wider economy and analysing how changes will impact your customers can also help you give a personal level of service.
Smaller firms can also provide flexibility which is a plus.
After all, one size does not fit all, particularly in a tough economy, and you have to be able to cater for most budgets.
Bespoke packages are attractive to clients. And this is another area where small companies can beat larger corporations who have no need to negotiate.
On top of this, smaller firms can afford to be choosier about who they employ.
You are only as good as your weakest member of staff and often in bigger companies, less enthusiastic, driven, ambitious or talented staff go under the radar.
Don’t be afraid to embrace your smallness
Many companies try to position themselves as bigger than they really are. This is a mistake.
Often customers will be looking for small and niche. They will pick you over a larger competitor simply because they think they will get better one-on-one service.
You see, being small does not have to be a barrier to success – in fact, it can be a positive strength.
Large organisations may seem to have many markets sewn up, but their one-size-fits-all approach to sales and marketing is not for everyone.
Differentiate your offering. This can be in terms of quality or product type, or offering something that isn’t available in the mass-market.
Take every opportunity to stress the benefits to your customers of buying from a small operation, and include the message on all of your marketing materials – even the packaging.
Concentrate on quality and exclusivity: you might be ‘family-owned’, for example, use a ‘handmade’ process or provide ‘bespoke’ goods and services to order.
In a nutshell
While big businesses can dominate markets with low prices, large product ranges and mass marketing, small firms have the edge when it comes to quality, service and exclusivity.
Enjoy standing out from the crowd.
