Independent Service Providers are Being Acquired and Local Businesses Can Use this Practice to Their Advantage Did you know your local service providers may not actually be part of an independent, small business? That’s right. The plumber you’ve called before, the electrician you’ve seen working down the street, or even the HVAC tech who has been at your neighbor’s house. While you may recognize their names and logos and think they’re a mom-and-pop organization, they very well be working for a large corporation. For people in the trades, this isn’t news. They’ve known about this for some time. It goes back to the COVID shutdowns when conglomerates realized the true value of “essential” services. These megacorporations recognized the potential earning power of local service providers and began to quietly acquire them. In order to maximize these new assets, the conglomerates allowed them to keep their existing names. But, when people call what they believe is their local service provider, they are really talking to a call center in another state or country. While many independent, small businesses use call centers, the difference is the technicians working for the acquisitions are no longer just trade professionals – they are now salespeople who push additional products and services. The individuals employed by these bought-out companies take the opportunity of their visits to upsell and their customers aren’t aware the familiar mom-and-pop business does not directly employ them. But, it’s not just the fact that these companies are ostensible fronts for selling additional products and services to increase profits for big corporations. It’s also the fact that legitimate small businesses must compete for the same customers. How Independent Businesses Can Take Advantage of Conglomerates Acquiring Competitors to Better Market Themselves Although it may be discouraging to compete against other companies backed by such deep pockets, there are some benefits you as a small business owner can tap into and use to grow your customer base. Yep, small, local businesses can use this trend to their advantage by emphasizing their authenticity and commitment to the community in their marketing efforts. Here are some strategies they can use you can copy in your own community: Highlight your local ownership. Emphasize your business is locally owned and operated by community members who are invested in the area. This can be done through website content, social media posts, and even in-store signage. Also, any vehicles, uniforms, and equipment. Engage with the community. Participate in local events, sponsor community initiatives, and collaborate with other local businesses to demonstrate your commitment to the community. This helps build trust and loyalty among local customers. Personalize your marketing. Use personalized marketing strategies, such as email campaigns, to connect with customers on a more personal level. Share the stories of vendors, employees, and customers to create a sense of community and belonging. Offer unique, local products or services. Highlight any unique products or services that are specific to your local area or that cater to the needs of the community. This can help differentiate your business from larger corporations and attract customers who value local products and services. Leverage online reviews and testimonials. Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, or social media. Share these reviews in marketing materials to showcase your support of the local community. Maintain a strong online presence. Ensure your business has a well-optimized website, active social media accounts, and accurate listings on local directories and review sites. This helps potential customers find your business and learn more about its local roots and commitment to the community. Offer superior customer service. Small businesses can often provide a more personalized and attentive customer experience compared to larger corporations. Emphasize this in your marketing materials and strive to consistently deliver exceptional service to build a loyal customer base. By focusing on local roots, community involvement, and personalized service, small businesses like yours can effectively differentiate themselves from larger corporations and attract customers who value authenticity and local connections. Want to Accomplish More? Do you want your company to grow faster and earn more while you spend more time with your family doing all the things you started your business to do? We can make that dream a reality. Give us 30 minutes and we will show you how to get your life back. Skeptical? Good! Put us to the test. You can call us for your free appointment at (602) 541-1760, or, if you prefer,

Some business owners run their company for many years, only to discover that they can’t do everything on their own. Once this inevitable realization materializes, most start to hire others to help them with various aspects of the business. Some even aspire to be largely absentee owners, leaving the day-to-day operations to a professional manager. So, they train someone up, giving them the responsibility of managing the company and then take a more offhand role, sometimes into a completely new venture or, to focus on one particular area. Typically, this goes fairly well, especially when said manager has been well trained. However, it sometimes ends in utter disaster and the manager winds up making a mess of everything. So, what do you do if you’re stuck in the latter nightmare scenario? What Good Managers bring to Small Businesses Before we get into how to fix a bad situation, let’s first look at why business owners hire managers in the first place. Usually, managers are brought on to handle all of the day-to-day activity. This allows the owner to put his or her efforts into expanding the business and even exploring new opportunities. A good manager will bring a nice return on investment, easily paying his or her salary, all while adding to the company’s bottom line. Bad management can impact employees and a company’s overall operations. Incompetent managers exist, and they can have challenges relating to staff members and keeping them motivated. In addition, substandard supervisors may not be able to balance budgets, increase revenues or capably perform other crucial tasks. —Houston Chronicle Small Business A good manager can really be an invaluable asset, being able to oversee employees, carry out projects, order materials and inventory, assign employees to various tasks and projects, and a whole lot more. In the end, the manager is also responsible for the public face of the company, particularly when the owners aren’t on site. Of course, there’s a great deal of trust involved here and unfortunately, that trust is sometimes betrayed. How Business Owners can Fix Mismanaged Companies If your small business has been mismanaged by an incompetent or uncaring manager, you’ve got your work cut out for you. The amount of damage he or she may have done may not be immediately apparent and will materialize over time. But, you can’t just wait to find out, you’ve got to leap into action immediately and do the following after letting him or her go: Talk to the employees. The very first thing you want to do is get a sense of the employees’ perspectives. You’re likely to learn a lot and some of it may take you completely by surprise. But, you’ll probably also get a kind of consensus and that will help you to know precisely what’s most important and how to prioritize what to fix first. Speak with vendors. This may sound a little odd but it’s probably worthwhile. Since vendors interact with the managers routinely, they will have different stories to tell and just like the employees, will probably give you some type of consensus. At the very least, you’ll find out how your former manager interacted with the vendors and if he or she had good or bad business relationships. Consult your customers. If you haven’t really heard any complaints from customers, this would be highly unusual. Although, your former manager may have been great in providing excellent customer service, while still mismanaging the business’ finances and/or mismanaging the team members. Regardless, getting your customers’ input is very important because it will let you know the reputation of your company. Lastly, you’ll have to go through the slow and meticulous process of piecing the operation back together. This might include having to make other personnel changes, establishing new relationships with different vendors, and possibly, having to repair customer relationships. Fortunately, a good business consultant can walk you through this very difficult process step by step. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.