Small Business Partners
Contributed by: Ed Rigsbee
Small business success is as much a function of persistence, positioning, and implementation as it is relationship building. With whom are you investing? What you put out, positive or negative, really does come back to you.
Partnering with employees is crucial to the kind of service employees deliver to your customers and how they use your resources. Your employees can sabotage your success without you evening knowing what they are doing.
Partnering with customers is important, if you want them to return. You want your customers to perceive you as their ___, you fill in the blank. You want to be top of mind in the consciousness of your customers. Everything you do, say, and do not do will have an effect on how your customers hold your business in their minds.
Partnering with your competitors is equally important. Competitors are any business that competes with you for access to your customers wallets. Are restaurants and auto dealers competitors? Absolutely they are. A new car will mean less dinners out. However, you can still partner with the competition through cross-promotion. The more you and your competitors get people out of their homes and into your places of business, the more people will let go of that money and circulate it. This will help the economy. Work with local business to develop cross-promotion campaigns. It will serve you well.
Ed Rigsbee is a Cool Old Guy that helps people and organizations build successful relationships. To access the several aspects of Ed, visit www.EdRigsbee.com