Staying Connected

I apologize for not posting in awhile. My humans decided to take a vacation to Disney World and left me at my cousin Nicky’s, she’s a Portuguese waterdog who is forbidden to use the computer. Anyway, as I sat on my fleece blanket watching yet another winter snowstorm bear down on us, I started to think of how small business owners stay connected to their businesses when they are away for an extended period of time.

If you’re a one person team, then how do you:

• Check voicemail or receive important phone calls?
  
• Respond to email?
  
• Provide customer support?
  
• Fulfill orders?

As most people have cell phones these days, calling to check voicemail messages left on your business phone is easy. You can also have your business phone forwarded to your cell phone or purchase a cell phone as your primary business phone so that you can receive and attend to calls anytime and anywhere.

As far as checking email, many hotels have business centers with internet access. But what if yours doesn’t? One solution is to get a cell phone that allows internet and email access. While this could be an additional monthly, and costly, service, it does allow you to easily keep in touch by answering questions through email to sales reps, retailers, and customers. This builds confidence as companies are not only judged by the quality of their product, but by the quality and timeliness of their customer service.

So, what about fulfilling orders from sales reps, retailers, or direct sales through your web site? I don’t think that many business owners want to pack an extra suitcase full of product and shipping materials just in case they get an order. While this could work if your product is small enough, such as CoolZips® zipper pulls, if you’re selling something larger, this is not really feasible. Therefore, your options are either to role the dice and hope that nobody wants to buy your product while you’re away (negativity that is not in your best interest), or alert your sales reps, retailers, and web site customers that any new orders will not ship for a specified period of time, or train a backup such as a trusted family member or friend to help out in a pinch.

Once again, effective communication is the most important aspect of business. Letting a customer know that there will be a delay in fulfilling an order is better than leaving that customer in the dark, feeling the need to repeatedly call and email to see if you received their order. Building trust between you and all of the people that you do business with will help to bring repeat sales and brand your company and name with a quality product and quality service.

Remember, building a successful company can be a wild ride and takes a lot of hard work, requiring many concessions, especially when you’re waiting in line at Space Mountain.