Small Businesses are the driving force behind the US Economy. The U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) estimates that there are nearly 28,000,000 small businesses that employ 56,000,000 workers while creating 2 out of every 3 new jobs. You would be surprised at just how many small businesses are in your city that you didn’t know about!
Working with a small business has advantages that you simply can’t find when you deal with larger businesses. They add diversity to an otherwise boring landscape of big chain companies. Without small businesses, all towns would basically be the same. How boring would that be?
Here are some of the common reasons businesses and consumers alike prefer to “Think Small”:
Working With Familiar Faces
When you call a large corporate business, what are the odds you will receive someone you have previously spoken with? In larger companies that likelihood is very low. When working with a small business, it’s extremely likely you would be able to talk with the same person you have previously dealt with. Once you’ve dealt with a small company long enough, it’s not uncommon to know each other on a first-name basis, which brings up the next point.
Closer to Our Customers
The cornerstone of small businesses is establishing personal relationships with clients. When you choose a small business to provide a service, you aren’t just a number among thousands of customers. For example, it’s not uncommon for SandStorm IT to know what type of equipment is in a customer’s location and how it helps makes their business run more smoothly. This allows us to help make better, more informed decisions when solving problems.
Our People are More Flexible
Since small businesses don’t have the budget to have specialists for every task, employees tend to be cross-trained to do several functions. Typically, working in a small business means you get a chance to “wear many hats”. This develops into better “on-the-fly” thinking and better problem-solving skills. How does this benefit you as a customer? With a more versatile staff, more problems are solved in less time, resulting in a better value for your technology dollars.
More Passionate About What They Do
Generally, small business owners are passionate about the work they do. This passion can typically be seen in the quality of service you receive. Small businesses will often go above and beyond to help you out because they know that if you are happy, you will inevitably tell other people about your experiences with that business. These types of referrals drive small businesses. After all, a good referral from a trusted friend is the best marketing a business can ask for.
Quick to Change
A major benefit for a small businesses, especially a business rooted in technology, is the ability to adapt and innovate. This is because there are fewer management levels and less red tape to get through. Small businesses are able to react faster because of this. As a customer, it means quicker turnaround, particularly on things like larger project quotes and estimates. For example, when the KRACK Wi-Fi vulnerability was found, SandStorm IT had a blog post and an alert newsletter out to our customers on October 18, around 48 hours after the security weakness was discovered. This type of agility often allows small businesses to outmaneuver larger companies and innovate at a faster pace.
Stimulating the Local Economy
More local revenue for a small business means additional tax revenue for local government, which goes towards supporting local police and fire departments, schools, infrastructure, etc. It’s estimated that every dollar spent with a small business, 45 cents stays in the local economy. By purchasing from the small business, you are actually helping the community as well.
If you’re interested in seeing how much better your technology can be with a solid partner, please contact SandStorm IT at 901-475-0275.