Giftology 2019

Local

HOLIDAY GUIDE

DID YOUKNOW?

Small business owners muststayabreast of growing trends to keep their businesses going strong.One such trend is the rise of subscription services.

Today’scustomers increasingly want products and services that aretailored to their preferences and delivered righttotheir doors. Small businesses cantap into this trend by offering specially curated items that arematched to specific consumers’needs.

Onemay havenoticed afair shareof subscription e-commerce businesses that ship items

Howlocal businessesgive back to theircommunities

Small businessesare booming. Information from theSmall Business Administration andthe U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs says that smallbusinesses, or firms with fewerthan500 workers, accountedfor 99.7 percentofbusinessesin2016, themost recentyearfor data.Firms with fewerthan 100 workersaccountedfor 98.2 percent of companies. In Canada,97.9 percentof businessesweresmallasof2017,withmore than half concentrated in theOntario and Quebec provinces.

Thankstotheir influence andreach,small businesseshavethe potential to impact local communities in numerous ways.

Small businesses employ local residents

The Statistics Canada Labour ForceSurveyindicatescompanies with fewerthan100 employeesemployed69.7 of thepopulation in 2017.

to customers on aregular basis. These subscriptions include everything from mealstobeauty products to clothing.

There is still room forgrowth. According to a report by McKinsey& Company, subscription sales increased from $57 million in 2010 to $2.6 billion by 2016. In general, this trend also coordinates with another desireofmodernconsumers –being willing to pay morefor aservice that delivers a personalized offering.

Accordingto theSBA’s OfficeofAdvocacy, small businessesaccountedfor 61.8 percentofnet new jobs in theUnitedStatesbetween 1993 and2016.

Small businesses areinnovative

The SBAnotes that smallbusinessesrepresent about96percent of employer firms in high-patenting manufacturing industries. Thatsuggests that small businesses arefull of newideas

Small businesses support local charities

Many localbusinessesgivetocharity,particularly local charities. Some donate moneywhile othersmay offer their professionalservices or event spaces, each of whichcan be particularly helpful to localcommunities.

Small businesses contribute to community identity

Small businessescontributetothe charmand characterofatownorcity. Many local businesses make up thefabricof Main Street, andtowns are

HOLIDAYGUIDE

10 WAYS TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES

Small businessesare the lifeblood of manycommunities. In the United States and Canada, the majority of businessesinoperation areclassified as small businesses,according to datafromthe Small Business Administration and StatisticsCanada. Consumers canexpress their appreciation forthe small businesses in their communities in various ways

1. Createaguide to local small businesses and shareitwith other people from the communitywho havelike-mindedinterests.

2. Shopatsmall businesses regularly

3. Usesocial media to giveyour recommendations on small businesses that go above and beyond in qualityand service

4. Speak with businessowners about your experienceasa customer,sharinginsightabout both good and bad experiences.

5. Encourage your family or friends to makesmall business shopping alarger part of their overall spending plan.

6. Think of small business sponsorshipswhenputting together school- or club-based fundraisers.

7. Host ameet-and-greetevent for varioussmall business owners.

8. If youown asmallbusiness, keep business cards, flyers or asign advertising another small business in the area to showmutual support

9. Invitesmallbusiness owners to community activity centers,nursing homes, schools, and the liketoshare their experiences about starting a business in the area.

10. Participate in community events that may be sponsored by small business owners.

knownand lovedfor thebusinesses that have endured.

Small businesses help the environment

Shopping locallymeans consumersdonot have to travel fartoget theirgoodsandservices.TheUnited States Environmental Protection Agency’s researchreportonwalkabledowntowncenters foundsmall businessesencourage walking and cycling, helping toreduceair pollution from vehicles.

Small businesses keep money in communities

Local businesseskeepdisposable income andtax moneywithin their communities. Businesstax moneyremains localand cansupport schools, roadsand municipal services.

Local smallbusinessesare the lifeforcethatkeeps cities andtowns prosperous andhummingalong Such establishments helpbuilda senseofcommunity andforge lastingrelationships. •

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DID YOUKNOW?

Supporting local businesses has somesurprising benefits that cangreatly improve lifefor entrepreneurs andthe communities theycall home. Largecorporations mayfind it impractical to open up shop in some small towns, villages andrural areas, feeling that the cost of opening andmaintaining the business mightnot be justifiable withsuch asmall potential customer base. In such instances, small businesses offeraninvaluable serviceto their communities, providing readily accessible goods to residents mightnot be able to or simply don’t want to drivelong distances to purchase items from the nearest retail center.Small businesses also provide employmentopportunities to local residents, which canbeespecially valuable in communities wherejobs arefew and farbetween. Supporting small businesses also canhelp make communitiessafer and morestable. When small businesses thrive, theypay moreinlocal taxes, and that increased tax revenue is then used by local governments to fund local schools, policeforcesand firedepartments.

Photo©WWW.BREIEHAGEN.COM

HOLIDAYGUIDE

Howsmall businesses improve theconsumer experience

Small business is bigbusiness. Thoughit’seasy andnot necessarilyinaccurate to associate small businesseswithMainStreet, small-and medium-size companies areplayersinthe international trade arenaaswell.

A2015 report from theU.S. Census Bureau found that small- andmedium-sizedcompanies comprised 97.6 percentof all identifiedexporters and97.2 percentofall identifiedimporters

Small businesses cancompete in both thedomesticand internationaltrade arenas foravarietyof reasons, notthe leastofwhichis theexperience they provide fortheir customers.While they maynot have themarketing muscle to competewithlarge corporations, many small businesseshaveperfected theart of providingtop-notch experiences fortheir customers by embracingseveralstrategiesthatmakeconsumers feel appreciated

Improvedcustomerservice

Nearly everyconsumerhas hadto contactaretailer or service provider regardingapurchaseatone point or another. Contacting alargecorporation canbe a difficultexperience forconsumers,who often must answerseveraltelephone prompts before they can be connectedtoahuman being. Small businesses typically do notask customers to clearsuchhurdles before theycan getintouch with an actual person Thatmakes theprocessofcontacting customerservice lesstime-consumingand aggravatingand more enjoyablefor customers

Responses

Small businesses areinbetterposition to respondto negative experiences or reviews, particularly onlinereviews, becausethey have fewercustomersthanlargecompanies whofieldhundredsifnot thousands of complaints perday.Studies have shown that customersappreciate responsesfrombusinessestheypatronize.A2018onlinereviews survey from Review Trackers found that 53 percentof consumersexpecta response to negative reviewswithin aweekofposting their reviewsand aredisappointedwhen they do notreceive aresponse. Unfortunately, the same survey foundthat63percentofreviewers have neverreceivedaresponsetoareview.Smallbusinesses arein aunique position to respondtoonlinereviews, andprovidingsuchresponses canturnapotentially negative consumer experience into apositive one. What’s more,because online reviewsand responses arepublic, prospective customerscan read acompany’s response andknowthatownerswanttheir customers to have as positive an experience as possible

Personalization

Many large companieswon’t customizetheir products, as their financial successis typicallyrootedin howeffectively theycan scaleto thousandsofcustomers perday,ifnot more.Solargecompanies have lessincentive to work one-on-one with customers. Small businesses arenot beholden to scale, which

givesthemthe flexibility offer more unique products, includingcustomizeditems

The consumer experience is often more customer-friendlywithsmall businessesthanlarge corporations. Thatwell-earnedreputationisjustone of many reasonswhy small businessesare thriving in today’s economy. •