Celebrating the Small Business Community

November 29, 2013 by

www.jeffkorhan.com small business saturday

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday.

It’s a day that may not necessarily be on the radar of of many consumers, but it is one that is especially important for local small businesses.

Small Business Saturday is an initiative that was created to bring greater awareness to the small businesses that form the foundation of the communities in which we work and live. This day is about more than business; it’s a celebration of community. 

Local businesses are more than commercial organizations; they are your neighbors, friends, and part of the same ecosystem that supports you.

Community Conversations are Moving Online

Every business, large or small, seeks to leverage the voice of the customer. Small businesses in particular are especially sensitive to earning the loyalty and trust of each and every customer, because this “word-of-mouth advertising” is often their primary means for attracting new buyers.

Thus, the seeds of social media marketing success are practically hard-wired into DNA of every small business. The challenge for them today is learning and adapting to these new digital technologies to nurture and leverage their local relationships to build their tribe.

Nurturing customer relationships is as vital ever – only now these community conversations are happening online.

Local Experiences are Personal

When you visit local stores you can access the energy and enthusiasm of not just the staff, but other patrons too. This the magic of community that Apple amplified with their retail stores that revolutionized retail.

Apple is one of the biggest brands in the world today because it designed its stores for a personalized customer experience.

Apple used their extensive creative and financial resources to take what is best about local retail to design an experience that engages buyers that are often fanatical about the Apple brand.

Personal care is what distinguishes every local small business. Yet, it’s a quality that Apple proved any business, large or small, can use to create an experience that feels personal.

And Zappos proved personal care works to build community even when a business is not local.

Technology is Making Business more Human

It is significant to note that awareness of many initiatives like Small Business Saturday would fall short without the power of social media for leveraging the collective voice of consumers. It is ironic that technology that once created barriers between people, and especially people and companies, now brings them together.

For small business to succeed in this increasingly competitive world, they have to develop more than a brand promise. There has to be an expectation of a friendlier and personal experience. That’s one of the hallmarks of small business.

The surest means for creating this expectation is not with traditional advertising or promotions, but direct experience. This is why it is so vital for local businesses to get buyers into the store. This is something that is more readily accomplished with content marketing than traditional advertising or promotions.

When I wrote Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business, I focused on the local small businesses that I knew best, having founded and operated one myself for two-decades. The reason for this is these local, mainstream, small businesses are ideally suited for using this technology for making a difference in the communities they serve.

Author Jeff Korhan at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL before the local launch of Built-In Social


Author Jeff Korhan at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, IL before the local launch of Built-In Social

I will be delighted if you purchased a copy from your local bookstore. If you happen to be near my local community of Naperville, IL, you may be able to grab one of the autographed copies still available from my local signing event at Anderson’s Bookshop.

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, helps mainstream small businesses create exceptional customer experiences that accelerate business growth. Get more from Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.

Jeff is also the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business – (Wiley 2013)

Small Business Social Media Accountability

April 19, 2013 by

Small Business Social Media

Recent tragic events here in the United States (and around the world) have heightened awareness of the global reach of media, especially social media, and the consequences for businesses using it.

Small business advertising has historically been local, making it easy to craft messaging that is appropriate for the targeted audience. However, now any piece of digital content has the capability of reaching audiences far removed from those for which it is intended.

This creates new responsibilities that many businesses are only just beginning to fully comprehend.

Your small business may be local, but your words spread far and wide, and that has consequences that can dramatically affect its reputation.

It is prudent for every business to recognize that they are a media company, and with that comes responsibilities for which is must be accountable.

Have a Larger Perspective

Many businesses autopublish information on their social media channels. This practice is useful for convenience, provided the content is monitored. Unfortunately, many influencers and businesses were swept into a controversy in the wake of the Boston Marathon tragedy, largely because what they were publishing had gone unchecked.

This is precisely why delegating the social media function to a low-level employee is not a good idea. When this is done the risk of making making poor decisions rises significantly.

To be sure, this may also hold true for media agencies that are inexperienced, or do not know your business well. And let’s face it, nobody knows your business like you do.

The solution is to weigh what is published against the values and beliefs of the organization.

Naturally, this larger perspective has to come from leadership, and it has to be clearly articulated in a manifesto or core values that everyone then adheres to.

Choose a Professional Approach

Zappos is an example of a company that manages their social media well; and this is accomplished by simply linking its employees’ social media sharing to its ten core values, which are focused on achieving world-class customer service.

When a business is intensely focused on the customer, it’s messaging necessarily becomes more professional. It’s when businesses seek to draw attention to themselves that the message can be interpreted to be self-serving, insensitive, or shallow.

Vital elements of the media message to carefully consider are these:

Language – We are judged by our words. Using profanity or slang rarely postions a company as edgy or cutting edge; it is likely to be viewed as amateurish at best, and more likely unprofessional.

Timing – Choosing your timing well respects your audience. This includes both the hour and day of the week.  Nobody wants to receive a business message on a weekend, with the exception of a light wrap-up of the week.

Content – Content is king, so design it for royalty – your customers. It’s quality reflects your personal and business brand.

Stories – Stories should entertain, educate, and inspire. They should deliver value and never make people feel uncomfortable. Stories about exceptional customer experiences are nearly always be appreciated.

Personal or Impersonal – Being too personal or too impersonal is not advisable when working with clients and customers, and so it is with your social media. Just be social.

Accuracy – Do your fact checking and avoid racing to report news that you have not verified as accurate.

Be a Responsible Publisher

Have guidelines that you live by. Minimize automation as much as possible, and always bring the wisdom of experience to bear on your social media marketing.

Responsible online publishing is now essential.

Learn to hold your business accountable for its social media, because its extended communities already are doing so.

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, helps mainstream small businesses create exceptional customer experiences that accelerate business growth. Get more from Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.

Jeff is also the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business – Just Released April 2013 (Wiley)

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