Was discussing with a client the other day the challenges they face in not only ensuring their business grows but that the growth is sustainable over the next 10 years. No easy solution there. What was apparent though was that the challenges of the last 10 years are very different from the challenges of the next 10!

In the past it’s been about product quality, efficiency, delivery, manufacture and just being as good as the competition. The key challenge for this small business, (our own businesses can’t escape this either) is to re-think the way this business works and to re-orientate it clearly towards people – customers, employees and other stakeholders. It’s a complete shift in understanding and action.

The future is all about delivering value to the customer and I’m not talking about the cheapest price here! And, adding worth/value to the assets of your small business. That means customer aquisition, customer loyalty and brand reputation/credibility. The four capabilities need to be in:

TRUST – your business reduces anxiety and doubt in all dealings with customers

TRANSPARENCY – trust is driven by a relatively high degree of transparency…if a customer is a partner rather than an audience, there is less to hide

ENRICHMENT – your small business can enrich your customers life or it can manipulate it

VALUES – common set of values amongst your team will ensure that implementing actions will be positive, more effective and value adding to the customer

Integrity, authenticity and transparency are changing the way in which businesses are judged. The small business has the advantage of being able to change the way it thinks quite quickly!