Category Archives: Business Mistakes

Small or large, every business will make a decision that turns out to be troublesome – either for themselves or for their customers. This category captures those mistakes.

This one is for librarians

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I’ve been trying to find a bulk solution to our tea needs – we drink lots of tea – and the tea bags are starting to add up as unnecessary waste.  So I found this retailer in a simple Google search: http://www.starwest-botanicals.com/category/loose-organic-tea-tea-blends/.   I challenge you to find a red tea on the site in under 2 minutes.

Instead of Sort by SKU, how about sort by Type?  Red tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Caffeine-Free, Decaffeinated, Black…  There is no reason that categories can’t overlap, but I can tell you as a customer, I am not going to sift through 3 pages of teas just to find the rosehip and Rooibos teas that we drink most.  And it’s a shame because it obviously looks like they have put a lot of time into the site and it’s nicely designed.

In further searching, check this out: http://www.herbco.com/c-3-bulk-teas.aspx.  Nicely categorized.  At the end of this search for bulk tea, which took about 40 minutes longer than it ever should have, I settled for Frontier Natural Products Coop.   They had organic and fair trade teas, both positive and categories which were easy to navigate.  Hopefully, the tea will be decent and the teabags we don’t use will save the world.  Well, maybe not, but at least it’s a small step in the right direction.

Business sense at its best

As I write this post, I lament the end of a bag of granola I had purchased in Vermont on vacation.   Silly you! You might say.  Why not just order online for them again?  It’s so easy for us to assume that any retailer would have an online store, or at least a website that would tell us how to get the product you want.  That’s not the case here.  I bought this bag at a farmer’s market and the gentleman who sold it to me said that they don’t have a website because “they are afraid that people will buy”.  After a hearty laugh, I realized that his sense for his business is right on.  How much would they have to make if people could buy their product online?  How would their business and their life change?  Did they want that change?

I’ll probably never know the answers to these questions, though I am very glad to have met the seller. He gave me a fresh reminder of how important it is for a business owner to know the limits of their business and the limit to which they are willing to take it.

Getting it right or getting it right now

I watch more and more of my clients struggle with the content of their website. How do you describe yourself? How do you describe your business? What colors to use? What information to post and what to keep private? All of these questions swirl around and become the proverbial writer’s block or developer’s block, I suppose, when putting together a site.

My best advise is don’t focus on getting everything right. Creating a website is much like writing a resume for your business. You’ll have to revisit it at least once a year if your business is doing well and more often if it’s not. Start off with the basics. Most businesses have a set of marketing materials even if they are oral and disorganized. Start with those and update them every 3 months or every month if time allows. It’s important to have a plan on how your site will grow, so when you add more information, it doesn’t become disorganized and you don’t have to spend money on a redesign.   Having this basic goal – start off small and build from there – will help your business get a presence on the web, or reclaim the presence it might have lost.

What is it that you actually do?

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One of the hardest things when starting a consulting business is explaining to other people what you do.  I suppose some entrepreneurs don’t go through this bump, but we did (and some would say, still are). 

I’ve been asked numerous times what I do at Brown Couch.  For a while I was answering that I help small business owners take care of their customers, but that sounds like I am a temp who comes to your store to help you gift wrap sales during peak times.  So, that didn’t quite work. 

In truth, I help small business owners organize their webspace and email marketing.  I say organize, rather than create, because most businesses already have something setup up.  Usually, it the site they started with 5 years ago, when they launched their business and by now, it’s been corroded by the tide of constant updates and piecemeal changes.

What’s my approach?  First and foremost, I try to understand the business goals behind the website.  For most small business owners, the site isn’t a store, it just a means of marketing themselves and showing themselves as a legitimate business.  Then I find a solution that is the most cost effective for that business.  Sometimes, it’s  complete redesign of the site, other times, I take the pieces and make them whole again. 

So, that’s what I do.  I pick up the separate pieces of your business website and make them consistent with your business image.  I also help your business setup an email marketing or newsletter services, to ensure that it’s also consistent with your business.

It’s all about who you know!

I finally decided to take a morning to attend a seminar on Social Networking organized by NEWBO and presented by Susan LaPlante-Dube from Precision Marketing Group. 

Here is what I’ve learned: being successful is in part about making connections and knowing the right people.  Perhaps the guy who sat next to you in high school algebra is now a VP at a firm you’ve been trying to recruit.  Facebook and LinkedIn may be able to help you reconnect with him and close that business. 

I am not writing this to give you a course on Social Networking – you’ll have to contact Susan for that.  I am writing this to bring the point home that small business owners get too wrapped up in their business needs and forget to seek out and attend seminars and workshops that can help them expand their knowledge base.   My recommendation would be 1 workshop or seminar per week.  If you feel that your business can’t afford that expense, consider having your own staff do a seminar (I would do it off-site to give everyone a break from the office).

Say it like it is

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I was astonished to notice a simple customer experience mistake in one of my favorite super-brand-creating self-loving enterprises – Starbucks.   The store has posted a small sign in a clear plastic holder that stated something along the lines of “if you don’t like your drink, please let us know and we’ll make you a new one”.  Except the sign was at least 4 paragraphs long and told the unsuspecting customer in excruciating detail how much they would love to keep their business and how much they would love to hear if the drink was not done to the customer’s liking.

There are several things wrong with this setup.  First of all, the sign was not done in Starbucks colors and looked out of place.  Second, it was too verbose.  And third, it appeared cheap and broke the image of a higher end coffee shop.  In fact, for a while I thought that it was done by one of the branch managers, until I saw an identical one in a Starbucks across town.

I see this problem very often with small business marketing emails.  Owners have so much to say that they wind up creating wordy emails that span what seems like pages.  A good rule of thumb is keep any promotional email to 1 printed page.   Anything longer is left unread and annoying to the recipient.

I’ll take The Ballet for $200, Alex.

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I typically advise clients who serve patrons in an event-based venue to walk their customers’ footsteps.  All too often, event organisers get so wrapped up in logistical details that they forget all about the customer experience.  For example, what refreshments are serviced is just as important as them getting there on time. 

I recently visited the Boston Ballet’s performance of Cinderella.  The show could use some help, but what struck me the most is the mismatch between the performance and the food served at intermission.   I’m not sure if the Wang is restricted from serving anything but prepackaged food, but I want to believe that there are better alternatives than Thin Mints and pretzels.  The food and the event don’t match and the result is a cheapening of the experience.

Here is the logic behind serving more exquisite and elaborate food. 

  1. The atmosphere: going to the Ballet is an exciting experience.  We get dressed up, we go out to a nice dinner beforehand, ladies put on makeup, gentlemen shave.   Keeping the atmosphere consistent is key to making people look forward to the experience with anticipation. 
  2. For kids, an art performance is usually something that parents have to convince them to attend.  I remember when I was a little girl, the anticipation with which I would wait for the trip to a show not because I was craving culture, but because they served the tastiest chocolates. 
  3. More expensive food means more revenue.  Let’s face it, in this economy, cultural performances can use all the money they can get, and here is one simple way to do it.

So, the next time you attend a performance where the atmosphere doesn’t match the event, send us an email (info@browncouchconsulting.com) and we’ll do our best to work with them on it.

This blog is free

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A friend of mine and I were discussing a small craft business that was closing its doors this year.  Of course, we started speculating on the causes of their demise.  One issue that seemed prominent was that they were charging groups of knitters to meet at their location while other places, say the library or a local coffee house, held such gatherings for free.  I’m not sure that this was the only issue with their business plan, but free services are an important part of any business and should be well thought through.  Continue reading →

Trainning will save the day, if you have a day to do it

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So, we’ve done it again.   We’ve gone to a great restaurant in Brookline with high hopes and walked out frustrated.  The food is great, but the waitstaff makes rudimentary mistakes that are unacceptable for a restaurant of their caliber.

What can they do?  Train, train, train.  

Here are some suggestions for effective employee training:

  1. Make a plan.  Have an outline of all the items that you need to cover when training new staff.  You’d be surprised how many things are done automatically.  If you can’t afford to make a manual for each employee, have at least 1 copy for every 5 employees at your location.   It’s even better if you can make it electronic since that makes it really easy to search.  Review this with your employees regularly.
  2. Know your business.  If your business model is based on your unique touch and interaction with your customer, consider hiring help to do the things that you spend a lot of time doing, but those that don’t face the customer, like shipping or stocking items.
  3. Know your staff.  What kind of staff/salespeople tend to do best in your business?  Those that can learn on the spot?  Those that learn by doing or by reading?  Hire and train people in a way that fits them and your business. 
  4. Get feedback – make sure that your customers have an anonymous way to give you feedback.  That way, you’ll know all the things that aren’t going well before you lose customers.

Please, ship directly

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Dear Readers,

I’ve been shopping online recently and I’ve noticed that many stores charge fantastically high shippping costs on items of high value.  One store, for example, charged $12 for an order between $50 and $75.   What effect does this have on me, as a consumer?  Well, it makes me try my darnest to get all I need in $49, because I’d rather pay $8 in shipping and handling.  See the problem here?  

So, just in time for our yearly shopping binge before the holidays, online stores should give some serious thought to a free-shipping threshold.  It’ll help your business if you’re able to move more inventory and some of the shipping cost can be folded into your prices.  Just make sure that your shipping process is extra lean before you start.