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When things go wrong, this is the secret way to keep customers happy

By Becky McCray

  We’ve all had times when we weren’t able to deliver what we promised to our customers. Maybe you’re going to be able to do it, but not when you promised. Or maybe it’s not going to be quite the way you said. Maybe a supplier didn’t deliver to you on time. Maybe you had […]

August 13, 2018 Filed Under: customer service, entrepreneurship, rural, Small Biz 100

If you help your customers to create a plan, don’t leave out this essential item

By Becky McCray

  If part of the services you provide includes helping people make a plan, be sure you don’t stop there. If you don’t address this pitfall, it’s going to hurt your sales and hold potential customers back. The problem Everyday people, like your customers, want to have a plan, but they have an important doubt. […]

April 2, 2018 Filed Under: customer service, entrepreneurship, marketing, Small Biz 100 Tagged With: service businesses

What hours should a retail store be open in a small town?

By Becky McCray

  Setting business hours is a big mess. In our Survey of Rural Challenges, small business owners told us that trying to be open later hours with no success was their number one challenge, two years in a row. When Deb Brown and I did our Q&A session on The Future of Retail, several people asked […]

February 12, 2018 Filed Under: Best of, customer service, entrepreneurship, marketing Tagged With: retail

Want more young families to shop downtown? Consider family parking

By Becky McCray

  We want our downtowns and our retail stores to be welcoming for all kinds of customers. We’re especially interested in bringing young families downtown for shopping and for special events. To do that, we have to think from their perspective about what keeps them from coming downtown. Their answers might surprise you. Jennifer Carlson […]

February 5, 2018 Filed Under: customer service, entrepreneurship, rural, shop local Tagged With: retail

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