(Akiit.com) There are many concepts that are thought to be integral to any small business. In some cases, these are broad concepts; examples of blue sky thinking, such as the fact that your business should be open to opportunities that arise. In other cases, the concepts are more like basic facts, such as the need to ensure you have excellent customer service, or that your business’ website is positioned well on Google rankings.
The importance of reliability, however, fits neither of these categories. Instead, reliability is more of a fundamental element – and it’s one that is often overlooked by entrepreneurs, much to their cost.
Why is reliability so important in business?
Let’s say you have won a pair of tickets to a major sporting event. You have two sports-fanatic friends who would love to be invited as your guest. The first friend isn’t a particularly reliable person; they miss events you’ve arranged to go to together, and they’re often late. The second friend is the exact opposite; they never miss a scheduled event, and they always keep you informed if they run into any problems on their journey.
In the above scenario, you’d always pick the latter friend. The event is important to you and, you want it to go smoothly; you could probably handle a few problems, but you don’t want to, and nor do you need to. You can invite the friend you can trust, safe in the knowledge that all will be well as a result.
For your customers, their purchase of a product or service is important, too. They want it to go well, and they want to avoid any unnecessary hassles that could complicate the process. In making their purchase, are they going to choose the company they know they can rely on, with a proven track record? Or are they going to pick the company that has let them down in the past?
Again, the answer is obvious: they will go with the company they can trust. Thus we can conclude that an unreliable company is unlikely to be a successful company in the long run – eventually, customers will run out of patience, and opt to go to a company they can count on instead.
Business reliability: three areas to focus on
While reliability is important across your business, there are three particular areas where it is particularly vital:
- Planned actions. If your business says it is going to run a sale, offer a specific product, or provide an additional service to customers, it’s important to do all you can to meet this commitment. It is therefore best to ensure you have any new initiatives 99% ready to go before announcing them to the public.
- IT security. Customers are more aware of the risk of data breaches than ever before, so work with the likes of Red Key Solutions to ensure your IT infrastructure is as secure and stable as possible.
- Communication response times. If a customer contacts you with a query or to make a complaint, set a company-wide 48-hour response time – even if that response is just that you are investigating the matter further, this is still preferable to silence.
The three areas above are crucial in terms of reliability, allowing you to build your company’s reputation and establish trust between you and your customers.
In conclusion
Reliability isn’t a novel, buzzword-worthy business concept – but it is undeniably crucial to the success of any business. By initially focusing on the three areas mentioned above, you can build a solid foundation on which you can then incorporate an emphasis on reliability into your business as a whole.
Staff Writer; Peter Jones