Posted by Sarah Jordan

A well-known foreboding statistic is that 75 percent of businesses fail in the first two years; and it’s not as if you’re in the clear after that. In almost every tactical aspect, small businesses are at a disadvantage, health insurance, financial and employment resources, brand leverage, taxation, and the list goes on.  These facts contribute to (if not explain) the above figure.  But while that statistic might paint the picture that small businesses are fragile or volatile, the recession and most recent economic crisis has been revealing otherwise.

Even more than usual, article links about small businesses have been flying around our office.  One article from CNN illustrated the hits that small business have been taking, but aren’t anywhere close to throwing in the towel.  Here are some of the business owners comments:

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Popularity: 27% [?]

Posted by Sarah Jordan
Co-authored by Mike Lebow, Business Development Manager for PaySimple

Regardless of the industry, everyone has had a challenging experience with customer service. Because the Internet has given businesses the opportunity to connect with more consumers, the focus on customer service quality has given way to customer service quantity.

This practice devalues the concept of customer service, which shifts emphasis to a negative, self-serving business pursuit: Breaking records by the number of customers helped in an hour. By taking the approach of providing unparalleled quality assistance, as opposed to only trying to increase quantity served, small businesses are guaranteed to have happier, more loyal customers.

Here are five key practices (starting with the easiest) to creating an exceptional customer experience:

1. Ask, Listen, Act and Sympathize!  Because your customer was already frustrated enough to pick up the phone and contact your customer service department, they are most likely foreseeing their experience to be a negative one. This is the chance to admit when you are wrong, and follow up by working your butt off to remedy their concerns.
2. Send an Update Email  Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. We’ve all been there, and you don’t like waiting in the dark either. By sending a simple note at the end of the day:  We’re still looking into the problem and hope to have a solution ASAP–Thank you for your patience.  You can prevent a handful of call-backs of customers just wondering what the situation is.
3. Create an FAQ Guide  To compliment direct support (whether on the phone or in person), your business can add a page that customers can go to find answers on their own. Many times, 80 percent of customer support issues are recurrent and could be addressed with a proactive answer. If you have a website, link to an FAQ or Most Common Questions page. Or, place copies of a Common Questions guide anywhere your customers frequent.
4. Implement Feedback Surveys  Not only is this a great customer support practice, but it’s a great selling tool, and doesn’t necessarily require a long list of questions. A Net Promoter Score survey asks one simple question, would you recommend us to a friend or colleague?  And is considered to be one of the most important indicators of a company’s success. The score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors (scores of 0-6 out of 10) from Promoters (scores of 9 and 10).
5. Conduct Usability Testing  Usability Testing is an extremely useful way to see how a customer interacts with your product or website. There are firms for hire that can do this for you (more expensive) or you can put an ad on Craigslist or find acquaintances who can do it for a low price or even for free (less expensive.) For a few hundred dollars, you can find and prevent fallout points and customer roadblocks that can thwart hundreds of future customer service calls. Learn more about setting up effective usability testing here.

Share your own ideas: Is there something your customer service department does that sets you apart from your competition?

Popularity: 24% [?]

Posted by Chad Gardner

For many small businesses, the prospect of adding a new way to collect payments, with a possibly unfamiliar technology, can seem intimidating. Most small businesses want to offer their customers more flexible payment types, but they are wary of the costs, security, and requirements to set up such customer conveniences.

The bottom line is, small businesses owners have questions, and aren’t sure who to ask.

Based on what we’ve learned from our customers, here are the Top 6 questions and concerns preventing businesses from setting up online payments:

1. We are too small of a company.  As much as it may seem, the rule is not be big or go home.  By incorporating online payment processing functionality, such as email invoicing and recurring billing, at a lower cost than legacy billing processes, small businesses can actually leverage their collection process and compete with larger businesses in some facets.
2. Our customers won’t use online payments enough to justify the monthly fees.
   On the contrary, consumers are driving the creation and adoption of such billing services. Over 50% of all US households pay at least one monthly bill online and wish more businesses offered the convenience.  Even non-profits like churches and fundraising organizations are adopting online payments, and realizing increased donations and sales.
3. Do we need to have a website?
   No.  Some online payment processing providers also provide a securely hosted online payment page that is even customizable to look like your business.
4. Do we need a tech person to setup and handle the system?
   No.  As the technology in payment processing advances, setting up online payments is becoming easier and easier to do. Not only do you not need a website, but you don’t need any technology experience. When inquiring with a company, be sure to ask about the setup process.
5. Are online payments secure?
   Yes.  Almost 85% of identity theft cases are due to offline transactions because consumers who pay bills electronically expose their information to fewer people. Additionally, using risk management features in a PCI compliant online payment solution, including adjustable fraud settings and user-based processing limits, protect both the merchant and customer.
6. I don’t know if it will be advantageous for me to set up online payment processing.
   Most of our customers experience faster collection cycles and increased sales or donations after setting up online payment processing.  In addition, they experience time and cost savings by drastically reducing the amount of paper invoices and checks they have to output and receive. I don’t know of a business that wouldn’t want to discover a service that enables it to follow the old mantra to cut costs and increase efficiency.
   

And if you’re still wary, check if the service you’re interested in offers a money back guarantee. Then you have nothing to lose by giving online payment processing a shot.

*Data from www.electronicpayments.org

Popularity: 10% [?]

Posted by Elissa Beckman

I was recently reading a magazine and came across an article about involving humor in the workplace. My eyes naturally gravitated toward the article, as I am all about incorporating fun into my workday. As I read through the article, I started laughing out loud at how ridiculous it was (not the laugh the author was looking for).

The article was, for lack of better words, lame. His points were stiff, structured, and focused on when and how to use humor in the workplace. Some of the laughable tips include avoiding intellectual humor and practicing your joke, yet looking for ways to make it appear spontaneous. I don’t know about you, but I am not practicing the joke I am going to crack in a meeting the night before, and definitely am not practicing ways to make it seem impulsive.

I am privileged to work in a growing, small business that encourages team members to be themselves and bring their own sense of humor to the table, very unlike the article that I read. PaySimple created its core values into the PaySimple PATH (which stands for Passion, Authenticity, Teamwork, and Happiness) and the PATH always begins and ends with Fun! As a small business, our team members are constantly working hard for our clients and continuously striving to contribute to the success of our company. Humor brings us together and creates a more enjoyable work environment. When you are working hard 9 hours a day, who doesn’t want to occasionally break for a laugh?

Having fun and involving humor also builds relationships among team members. When your company is growing at a fast pace, and you are constantly adding new people into your culture, humor is a great icebreaker and effective communication tool. Additionally, the small business environment can be stressful, and humor can be a valuable tool to relieve that stress. Use it often to lighten the mood, especially if the person next to you is having a rough day and needs a little pick-me-up.

Appreciate working in a small business environment, as you have the power to energize and empower your employees by creating an enjoyable and open place for them to work. And laugh and have fun along the way!

Popularity: 18% [?]

Posted by Eric Remer

These two words are spoken quite a bit around the halls at PaySimple (and probably in many growing organizations around the world). But what do they mean?

Activity defines the person who is willing to put in time, but not willing to engage himself, a person who tries hard, but is not willing to care. Active people are essentially going through the motions, doing what they are told, but adding little or no value in the creation process.

Productivity defines the person who is fully engaged in what he is doing, and not just at the office, but in life. Productive people are passionate about their goals, accomplishments, and destinations. They are creators. They can change a concept into an experience and a napkin sketch into an operating business. That is the power of productivity.

So why is it so important to small businesses? In my view it is critical for all businesses to focus on productivity, versus activity, because small businesses simply have fewer resources and less room for error. If everyone is just being active yet not productive the business will not move forward. In today’s business climate, if you are not moving forward you, you are moving backwards, and we all know businesses will not survive for long going in that direction.

If everyone in a growing business contributes at a high level of productivity, it not only makes for a great company, it makes for an incredible collective experience.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Posted by Eric Remer

I was recently in a meeting with a director of business development for a Fortune 100 company, and as we discussed a potential deal that could provide tremendous value to both organizations, it became clear that size does matter and in a way that might not be so obvious.

Smaller companies benefit from large organization’s breadth, infrastructure, brand recognition, and vast distribution. Large companies, however, benefit from the nimble nature of smaller companies. Small companies can often create, execute, and implement with a drastically quicker turnaround by avoiding the bureaucracy that plagues many larger organizations. There are simply less cooks in the kitchen, which makes us much quicker on our feet.

During the meeting, the representative from the larger organization eloquently described the value each of our companies was bringing to the table:  We think of ourselves as a big yacht that has the ability to cross the vast ocean. However, when we get close to shore, we are not so great at maneuvering. That is why most yachts tow a few jet skis on back, so they can navigate the shoreline.

It was a great analogy that perfectly described the symbiotic relationship between big and small companies. Both add tremendous value, as long as each party appreciates what the other brings to the table.

So there is no need for small companies to have an inferiority complex. Simply understand the value you bring to the table, and find the right partner who sees your value as well!

Popularity: 21% [?]