A few months ago, I had a small rant on my social media after I had experienced a week full of poor service from start-ups. I work with start-ups quite a bit in my work, this is both from my 9-5, and my 5-9. In my 9-5 I have been lucky enough to be part of a start-up within a well-established organization. I have seen the price of reliability as a start-up!
This time I have been stirred up by the experience of my friends, a newlywed couple who ordered a couch from a local start-up. There were obviously a few reasons why the choice would be working with a start-up; getting a custom-made couch at a reasonable cost was one of them. The order for the couch was made in December 2020, and with resurfacing of covid-19 cases and a sharp increase in deaths, the country was thrown into lockdown. Between movement restrictions and the reclassification of essential service providers, the furniture maker stopped operating for a while. This is understandable. The problem is that they didn’t communicate their shutdown, nor the hold up in production. My friends had to constantly follow up to get updates on where production was and most of the time their calls went unanswered. Long story short, today, three months after the couch had been ordered, my friends were asked to come and collect. The couch was complete…and in the WRONG COLOR! They collected their deposit and business with this start-up is over together with any chance for referrals. I was actually waiting for their couch to come as I was considering getting a new couch in the next few months.
One thing I often communicate to all the businesses I work with is that there are only so many things you can control and compete on. The best way to establish your new business is to use tools that do not cost you anything as a business. Reliability and communication do not cost a dime. Once you have shown that your business is reliable, through good communication and providing services as promised, when promised and in the promised quality.
Honesty also goes a long way. Usually when we running a new business, owners have a hard time turning down business. If it’s a new customer, you are afraid of saying no in case they don’t come back. If it’s an existing customer, you are afraid they will fall onto the lap of another start-up who will capture them forever. While the fears are not unfounded, promising to offer service when you know you are overwhelmed never ends well.
If you are already at full capacity, I would suggest that you try the following:
- New Business – Let them know that you are currently at full capacity. A lot of customers respect service providers who can be honest about their ability to deliver. Also, the fact that you are too busy to take me on could also show that you are worth waiting for. To put the cherry on top, don’t be afraid to recommend an alternative if the customer is unable to wait. Please make this a reliable partner, it’s not your chance to send them to someone worse so that they come back.
- Existing Business – Anyone who has already been your customer is coming back for a reason: You did something right the last time. This person is likely to be understanding, should you ask them to wait a few extra days as you finish up existing orders. Also, if you have been solid with non-financial cues (your reliability, consistency, and communication) then there is a high likelihood that even if your customer uses another service provider this one time, they will be back. Again, refer an alternative. A good alternative!
This was really meant to be a short post so I’ll stop here. Your reputation as a new business is what determines whether you scale up and how much you grow as a business. It is important to invest in the ‘free’ things and nail them. If you have employees, make sure that they share that vision and make it an organizational culture. It doesn’t help to have an honest leader if all the front facing teams undo that work.
Go out there and continuously improve. #KaizenYOU