Making it personal + a small business rant

Posted by Spike MondayMotivator

For as long as I can remember I’ve been saying that small businesses are the backbone of any economy. They employ the most people, offer the best paths to expertise and growth for employees, pay the most tax and are the hardest hit by situations outside their control.

New Zealand takes that to the extreme with approximately 75% of our businesses being small businesses of 10 or less. With a huge percentage of those being micro-businesses. Businesses with three or fewer employees.

Over the past year, I have met, spoken to and run workshops through Digital Boost and Mailchimp for thousands of people who run these businesses. A lot of them have decided that no matter what is being put on them they are going to forge ahead.

I love this attitude!

It’s what keep the wheels turning in our fair Aotearoa. And yes, I think I’ll be using both names because I want to embrace the dual cultures (?) we have in our country.

This is a big part of what makes us unique and so I’m embracing it. Because not only does it work for me but I’ve seen that on a global stage people like it. They gravitate towards it because it’s different and we need to use every advantage we have to not only stay in business but ensure ongoing growth.

One thing I’ll mention here is that I often see more opportunity in someone’s business than they do. They’re so, I can’t think of a better way to say this so I’ll say, beaten down, they’re no longer seeing the possibilities of their own business.

One of our clients saw the possibilities and grew his business by 97% over the past year and it’s still growing. So, how can you do the same?

You need to embrace online, get personal (see I got there) and really focus on realising that every touchpoint with your business is a marketing opportunity. You need to use that opportunity to gain email addresses and grow a customer list you keep in contact with.

Following that though, I am concerned by the amount of Kiwi businesses either not online yet or that they are being fleeced by digital agencies. Now, while some of these agencies might think they’re offering a good service the set and forget nature being sold does nothing to grow the businesses using them. In fact, it’s amazing what happens after we set our EFFECTIVE digital report up and show the owner what’s happening online for them. Things start moving again as hard questions are asked of the service providers.

Anyhoo. Back to making it personal.

I believe small businesses have an opportunity to make things personal that larger businesses don’t. You need to be front and centre in your businesses website. So many businesses have this formal style of writing that is meant to make them look bigger than they are. They also remove themselves from the About Us page.

That’s ridiculous. Right now people want to shop local and they want to build a relationship with people they trust. This is an amazing opportunity you need to take advantage of. Put yourself on your website. Write your copy like you would talk to someone in person. That’s a big difference right now that will help grow your business. Take advantage of the fact you are a small business that can deliver personal service.

This is getting a bit long so, I’ll end today’s MondayMotivator with this, figure what you can control, control it and get personal. It works!