Several smaller family owned businesses today are feeling the pinch of the current recession. A lot of these family run companies have been running for many generations and have not anything about their way of conducting business in all of this time. Now that the economy has plummeted, several of these mom and pop type companies are scared of going out of business for the first time.
This article will discuss ways that these smaller companies can maybe think out of the box and use some alternatives to recoup some of the loss their business have occurred during the struggling time. One example is a local vacuum pump repair shop that began many years ago by the owners father. They specialized in fixing vacuums and vacuum pump parts and had always had steady business. They still operated the old fashioned way with a cash register and paperwork and receipts. Advertising for their repair shop was solely based on recommendations from customers and word of mouth. For all of these years that had worked just fine. Now, their business is having a hard time and the owner is fearing the worst. The whole business model for their store was "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Well, currently it needs some fixing and they do not know what to do.
The crucial thing for businesses such as the one highlighted above is to become as up to date as the business owner who is just opening a shop this month. Many old Mom and Pop businesses are similar to one above, not utilizing modern technology and no advertising. Times have changed and competition is fiercer than ever. The business should initially buy a business computer system installed that will assist them to be on top of everything. The next step to do is to look into starting a website that can reach a wider customer base.
Many companies these days have a website, whether it is just purely informational with the location and products and store hours displayed or they wish to sell to the whole world wide web. The yellow pages are becoming less used as now people to choose to google whatever they need to research. If the little Mom and Pop store does not have a website, then they will lose business to the business that does have one in the same area. The difference in having a website rather than not could makeup the difference in the percentage of sales lost during this economic downturn.
These smaller businesses should search to find someone that is very knowledgeable in computers and website design and start ups to assist them in beginning this new venture. There are companies that specialize in that and can be found on the internet. Stepping out of your comfort zone and changing a business model that may have been started by your grandfather may be frightening and scary at first, but it worth the chance and time to update your way of conducting business through the internet.
This article will discuss ways that these smaller companies can maybe think out of the box and use some alternatives to recoup some of the loss their business have occurred during the struggling time. One example is a local vacuum pump repair shop that began many years ago by the owners father. They specialized in fixing vacuums and vacuum pump parts and had always had steady business. They still operated the old fashioned way with a cash register and paperwork and receipts. Advertising for their repair shop was solely based on recommendations from customers and word of mouth. For all of these years that had worked just fine. Now, their business is having a hard time and the owner is fearing the worst. The whole business model for their store was "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Well, currently it needs some fixing and they do not know what to do.
The crucial thing for businesses such as the one highlighted above is to become as up to date as the business owner who is just opening a shop this month. Many old Mom and Pop businesses are similar to one above, not utilizing modern technology and no advertising. Times have changed and competition is fiercer than ever. The business should initially buy a business computer system installed that will assist them to be on top of everything. The next step to do is to look into starting a website that can reach a wider customer base.
Many companies these days have a website, whether it is just purely informational with the location and products and store hours displayed or they wish to sell to the whole world wide web. The yellow pages are becoming less used as now people to choose to google whatever they need to research. If the little Mom and Pop store does not have a website, then they will lose business to the business that does have one in the same area. The difference in having a website rather than not could makeup the difference in the percentage of sales lost during this economic downturn.
These smaller businesses should search to find someone that is very knowledgeable in computers and website design and start ups to assist them in beginning this new venture. There are companies that specialize in that and can be found on the internet. Stepping out of your comfort zone and changing a business model that may have been started by your grandfather may be frightening and scary at first, but it worth the chance and time to update your way of conducting business through the internet.
About the Author:
Chuck R. Stewart recently purchased a vacuum pump repair kit online for a very old machine he was trying to fix. He eventually will have to replace the vacuum pump altogether.
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire