Don’t be THAT Business

I live in a small town and I have for most of my life. Living and working and running a business in a small town is very different from living and working and running a business in the big city or even a larger town and community.

The Small Town Dynamic

When I say small town I’m talking less than 10k people per town.

Like small.

And we have businesses here; restaurants, grocery stores, boutiques, flower shops, auto dealerships, attorneys, real estate and insurance agencies, and a couple of mom and pop shops. There are gas stations and a couple of motels too.

The basics, nothing crazy, although we did get a Starbucks a few years back! Yay!

Economic Focus and Growth

The community and county definitely need to grow but the local economy is very much reliant on the oil field industry and much to my chagrin, the city leaders put the majority of their focus into accommodating oil field workers with temporary lodging (hence all the local and empty motels) instead of investing back into the community with actual growth – new subdivisions, shopping centers, and places for families to live, work, and play.

Who wants to bring their wife and kids to the middle of nowhere Texas when all the town has is a Walmart and a couple Mexican restaurants?

Nobody, that’s who, but I digress…

Challenges for New Businesses

Back to the topic of small businesses in small towns…

They struggle to open and make a name for themselves which you wouldn’t think would be that hard in a small town, but it is.

You see, in small towns there’s usually a good ol’ boy system in place and the ones who’ve always run the town are the ones who’ve always run the local businesses. Newbies are hardly welcomed with open arms.

They’re seen as competition.

Big fish, little pond syndrome.

Us four and no more…you get the point.

Customer Service and Community Expectations

So when a business is able to open and provide a service or product to the community, those people have some grit.

And sometimes that business thrives and sometimes they are barely able to keep the doors open.

Sure there’s a local Chamber of Commerce, but…again, the “system” is in play here and if you’re not part of that club and you don’t play the game, it sucks to be you.

Small town politics are not for the faint of heart.

And based on this system in place, you would think that the local businesses would be focused on customer service and growing a business by providing the best service and product possible, but they are not.

Don’t get me wrong, some absolutely are all about their customers and service. These businesses are the exception.

The Take-It-Or-Leave-It Attitude

Generally the feeling from small local businesses is, if you want better service call someone else and good luck with that because the nearest big city is nearly an hour away. Go there if you want good customer service or a good quality product, but we are here and this is what you get.

It’s this take it or leave it attitude.

And the community kinda puts up with it because the options are few.

Except no one is really happy.

The Impact of Poor Service

The businesses are not really happy because they don’t have raving fans or are not growing the way they’d like, and the people are not happy because the service and products are only subpar.

Nobody wins.

But here is where I have my problem- those local businesses expect to put in minimal effort and reap grand rewards.

They expect to have poor customer service at their establishments, high prices to make up for the rising costs of inflation AND the fact that they have little traffic, and expect the community to support them no matter what.

The local community Facebook groups are filled with “support local” and “buy local” and all these other guilt trip posts to the community conveying the message that, “hey we are HERE and we want to sell and we want you to buy from us because we are HERE.”

I mean nobody says that, but that’s definitely the message.

But the kicker is when you do “shop local” and you are a repeat customer, there’s hardly any acknowledgement. It’s almost a sense of entitlement.

And nothing says that more clearly than when you ask that business for support. Whether it’s a sponsorship for a sports team, or support for your own local business it’s, “uhhh thanks, we’ll take a look at it.” Smile, and forget you ever spoke to them kind of feeling. Pretty sure when you leave they throw your business card in the trash. I don’t know but probably because you will NEVER hear from them.

It’s those same businesses who cry about the rising costs of keeping their doors open and how the community needs to “buy local.”

It’s those same businesses who close in the middle of the day because they can’t afford to stay open full business hours, or who close early on their own business hours because there’s no foot traffic.

Their business listing on Google or Facebook (if they even have a validated listing) says they are open, but you can drive by and they are NOT open that day or during the hours they say they are.

It’s those same businesses who will use big box stores to get their supplies, big names online to buy their merch from, or expensive big companies to do their x,y,z. They themselves are not supporting the local businesses who provide those services.

Personal Experience and Perspective

I found this out real quick when I started my marketing agency in 2016 and offered web development, SEO, and promotional marketing materials to local businesses. Those businesses were using Wix (cheap and big name) and VistaPrint, etc. and definitely did not want to “shop local.” *FYI I pivoted and started working with businesses outside my local area and across the US and Canada.

These games don’t work in a larger, more prosperous community because quality and service really does matter there.

Those local businesses would never cut it in a large community because there actually is competition. The business with the best service or product is booked, busy, or sold out and the economic trickle effect takes place – people will look for the next best, or the cheapest, or the most available and so on. And the businesses thrive, adapt, and grow.

Everybody wins.

Conclusion: Be Better

My point is this – don’t be THAT small business who puts in very little effort in your service or product or even community involvement but expect the community to support you when you need them. Learn more about how to improve your business practices here.

Real Conversation Example

It looks like this:

Business owner: “Hi I’m interested in having my business name on your team shirt!” (assumes it’s free)

Community Member: “Ok great! We have sponsorship packages for the local business to help support the ____ team! We are so excited to work with our local community to help support our kids (insert extracurricular) team this year and want to give the local businesses the opportunity to advertise and have a shout out on social media, etc…”

Business Owner: “Oh…”

Silence.

…“Well I can’t afford to support you but let me know if you guys need t-shirts made!”

Wow.

Seriously, this was a real conversation with a local business.

See what I mean, don’t be THAT business.

Small town business owners, you can do better.

Are you a small-town business owner ready to break free from the “that’s just how it is” mindset? Let’s work together to elevate your customer service, enhance your product quality, and truly thrive in your community. Reach out today to learn how we can make your business the best it can be. Don’t settle for mediocre – be exceptional!

Shout Out to Great Businesses

P.S. Not every small-town business has this attitude, and there are plenty that truly excel. I’ve seen and experienced this over my 40 years living here. Shout out to those small business owners in small towns all across the USA who genuinely care about their customers and go above and beyond! You guys rock!