May 10th is National Small Business Day, celebrating small businesses and honoring small business owners. The day was officially designated by the Small Business Administration and occurs around the same time of year that National Small Business Week takes place, which honors important small businesses around the country.
So, today we are celebrating with our small business community by sharing some of the big benefits of small business patronage and partnerships. Small companies outpace corporations by more than 2 to 1 in ratings. These include speed of response (53% vs. 23%); working with knowledgeable staff (51% vs. 15%); the feeling of having a relationship (50% vs. 23%); time to resolve an inquiry (46% vs. 21%); being flexible (43% vs. 14%); and enjoying the interaction with staff (40% vs. 19%).
According to our clients, these are the top three reasons to work with Bloom, along with a few tips from our Team who make it all possible.
#1 Easy to work with
The marketing teams we work with have a lot of responsibility, compounded by immediate demands and expedited deadlines. Anything we can do to make their jobs easier is a good thing. Having a streamlined operation helps simplify processes for clients, but to truly be successful requires a more individualized approach. Knowing how each client works, how they prefer to communicate, and what we can do professionally and personally to deliver peace of mind – the initiative to be proactive and pivot as needed makes the difference.
“Creative briefs, pre-flight lists, and workflow platforms help for scheduling and tracking projects but taking the initiative to navigate and mitigate any potential issues early on is the best way to keep a project running smoothly.” – Greg Platti, Project and Production Guru
#2 Fast and responsive
Having a great team ready to react to client needs is key in customer service. But there are several operational steps you can take to create a culture that is customer-centric, like quickly responding to confirm receipt of a request, having an internal review to raise any questions asap, addressing the requested task but also adding value with any complementary tactics or potential hurdles – all contribute to a smoother outcome.
“The ability to outpace your competitor may be a unique selling point – but no business, especially a small business, should ever sacrifice quality for speed. If you want the ability to work fast, you need a skilled staff that ensures excellence at multiple checkpoints, too.” – Noreen Bifulco, Wordsmith & Workflow Specialist
#3 Experience and expertise
With over a decade of B2B experience, we have become experts on the nuances of communicating with a range of business audiences and organizational roles. Longer sales cycles and multiple decision makers add hurdles that require an experienced partner when informing, writing, and designing B2B campaigns.
“Experience is a must, especially with B2B. And as a small business, you can offer the personal focus and attention others cannot. One of your best selling points is to really understand your client’s business goals as they relate to their customer experience. Marketing messages are far more impactful if they are driven by data and crafted to be relevant and meaningful.” – Laura Caggiano, CSO
This National Small Business Day, be sure to celebrate and share the best features of your small business and those 33.2 million small businesses that continue to make a big impact on our economy.
Need an expert to support your B2B marketing? Talk to us today.
