I shop a lot – and one of the main things I remember about a business is whether or not it was EASY to do business with them. In fact, it sets the foundation for rather or not I am a repeat customer. Large corporations really drop the ball on making life easy, am I right? Press 5 for this – 7 for this – wait for 45 minutes to talk to a live person, blah blah.
Small Businesses are really in a position to pick up corporate slack. People want to do business with people who make their lives easier, their experience more pleasant, and do both in a reasonable amount of time. Being simple to do business with can drive customer loyalty and set you miles apart from your competitor.
Be Simple To Do Business With
- Offer Free Consultations – If you are in a business where consultations or demos are useful, make them quick and painless! Not only do you want to be right for your prospects, but you want them to be the right fit for you. Make it easy for people to check out what you offer without timely, costly interaction.
- Make Payment Methods Hassle Free – If someone is willing to give you their money – make it easy for them! Offer various methods for people to make a payment with you both on and offline.
- Have a Frictionless Website – Within the research stage of buying, people will want to browse your website before they ever want to talk to you. Make your website easy to navigate, visually appealing, and with appropriate contact information. Time is valuable, so position everything within quick reach of your website visitors.
- Present Superior Customer Service – Good customer service goes a long way! Check out our past blog, “Provide Exceptional Customer Service and Keep Your Clients” for more on this important topic.
- Be Easy To Stop Doing Business With – If someone decides to stop doing business with you, is hard for them? For example, I had a membership at a fitness club that I needed to quit because I was moving out-of-state. I had to have multiple signatures, termination fees, and documents filled out. It was SO hard to stop doing business with this club, that I have not joined my new local location.