For small business owners, one gets used to saving money, doing as many tasks as possible and multitasking on a regular basis.  As a good business practice, however, it is important to know how to do all aspects of your business well and sometimes, it means hiring staff to do it, outsourcing the job and/or partnering with companies that symbiotic in nature to your business.  Picking partner companies to work with help build your credibility as a business.

In basketball, my son is coordinated, fast as lightning, knows the plays and a great team player but one thing he is reminded of constantly is court awareness.  What is happening around you? Same applies for business – business awareness.  How is your business perceived by others?  How do you customers see you and how you offer products and services?  Do you have many repeat customers?  Do you accept feedback – both good and bad for the purposes of evaluating how your business is doing?  Business awareness…….

Successful businesses are those who can adjust to the ever changing times.  Just a short time ago, we didn’t have the Internet in place.  Is your company offering services and products through the Internet now?  Even if you are doing fantastic as a brick and mortar business, I’m sure people will ask you all the time, what is your website address?  They may be asking just for more information, for your contact information (NAP -Name, Address, Phone Number) or perhaps they want to conduct business with you online and are trying to do so but on their own timeline.   Are you keeping up with how your customers want to do business with you?

Some people want to talk over the phone and prefer to speak to a real person, have questions answered and are listening for whether or not the person on the other end is someone trustworthy enough to do business with.  Some folks want to see you in person.  Body language says a lot about how capable and ready a person is to do technical, accurate and timely work for you.  Email is another way of corresponding so you can engage with your client back and forth without interrupting their business day.  E commerce is another way to be open for business at all hours from anywhere in the world.

Are you adapting so you are open to all types of customers?  Tell us what you think……..