The Word Of Mouth Trap For Small Businesses
Small businesses and novice entrepreneurs tend not to have a solid sales plan. Relying on word of mouth alone is a death trap you must avoid.
Most of us will agree that clients are one of the main reasons why businesses can keep running, so it does not surprise me the tremendous pressure that small new business owners have to satisfy them.
Certainly, it does not matter the size of the business or the age, you always want to have satisfied clients. But normally, small businesses that are starting do not have the luxury of many clients and resources in contrast with well-established businesses with a large clientele base.
When you get enough satisfied clients, at some point they will do referrals, and you will begin filling your capacity. You start relying on word of mouth. This is a death trap.
Small businesses and novice entrepreneurs tend not to have a solid sales plan, especially local small businesses. Once you have enough clients to survive and you know they keep coming to your door, you become complacent and do not look actively for new clients. At that moment, you are one step away from the trap.
A proactive sales force will never happen if you do not take the step and find a way to make sales.
You should delegate, train, and outsource your business's basic operational things and focus on growing your business, not stagnating it. For a small business, no sales means no cash flow and the lack of available cash kills small businesses.
Most average small businesses are not unicorns that have a monopoly on their services. If you are not seeking new ways to acquire new clients, implementing marketing, and are just relying on word of mouth, that is just laziness, and you should be worried about the future of your business.
Until the next one,
Javier