Insights / Small Business
For 25 years, we’ve fueled growth for brands that serve small business.
Rodgers Townsend recently interviewed 75 small business owners to understand their views as they shift from getting “back to normal” to preparing for what may be ahead. We’d love to discuss the learnings and insights we share below.
▽
We believe Business Advantage and growth are the predictable outcomes of establishing an Emotional Advantage — the insight-inspired connection your brand makes to win with consumers.
Emotional Advantage
starts with empathy and understanding a consumer’s motivations.
Let’s begin
with the obvious…
Small businesses took a whiplashing in 2020.
For some, COVID-19 sparked innovation and forced a pivot. But for so many others, if the pandemic hasn’t forced closure, it has left them hanging on by a thread.
Owners are worried about lost revenue, cash flow, hiring, and keeping employees and customers safe. They’re struggling with employee engagement, remote working, effective communication, technology upgrades to meet new demands, and keeping up with changing regulations.
So, what is their biggest challenge today?
“Literally, everything.”
But what aren’t the headlines telling you?
We’ve recently interviewed 75 small business owners in depth, one at a time, then aggregated thousands of data points to validate or challenge our assumptions about what makes them tick.
In doing so, we deepened our understanding of who they are, what they value, what drives them, and what will influence the decisions they make in the years to come.
While no two small businesses are the same, they do share remarkably similar values and ideals.
When we peel back the veneer of social media, their daily challenges and ongoing struggles are the exact starting point where your brand can show empathy and win.
75 interviews + 1,000s of data points
10 BIG LEARNINGS
Merging identities
Small business is personal. Small business owners are self-assured, yet ever seeking input. Sharing opinions comes easy. But it’s important their high standards are met, and they’re seen as successful.
The toughest boss is in the mirror
A great many are self-proclaimed perfectionists and workaholics. In the pursuit to overachieve, their famous work ethic may also explain why they over-index for being divorced.
Control and trust issues
They have an innate need to feel in control and have difficulty trusting others with their business. Many believe no one will take care of their business like they will.
It’s not just about the money
Their business is a deeply rooted passion. Stellar service and positive customer reactions drive them. That emotional endorphin rush can be just as intoxicating as the cash.
Not every business wants growth
Sometimes their passion for perfection creates a natural limit to expansion. And many are happy balancing life as they know it — choosing stability over volatility.
Move over, millennials
More than 50% of all small business owners are boomers who aren’t quite ready to coast into retirement. For many, it’s a second career with no clear end destination in mind.
Tech savvy-ish
While many are not early adopters of technology — valuing reliability over the latest and greatest — they are reasonably tech savvy and stay digitally connected.
Prone to paralysis by analysis
Accountable to not just themselves, but a staff that feels like family, they research every decision. And the gravity of those bigger calls can, at times, grind operations to a halt.
Community Chest
Relying heavily on their peers for advice, support, resources and opportunity, they’re just as eager to share their secret sauce on social as they are to absorb new learnings.
Optimism is their oxygen
They balance all their hard work and determination with a buoyant sense of positive energy, humor and creativity. And they seek like-minded partnerships to feed their flame.
Let’s synthesize these and other learnings to demonstrate empathy in action in how you position your brand and communicate with small business owners.
We’ll start with four opportunities to build Emotional Advantage.
A Baker,
Not A Banker
THE INSIGHT:
It’s hard to know how best to prioritize my day and where to direct my energy.
I have a deeply rooted passion for my business, and I’m passionate about serving my customers. In fact, serving their needs and experiencing their positive feedback is what drives me. It’s how I define my success.
But even with this passion, executing day-to-day operational tasks is daunting — things like managing inventory, accounting and marketing. I’m not an expert in these areas. I have a million things on my daily to-do list, but many of them are not the reasons I went into business.
If I’m being honest, I’m even fearful of making costly mistakes in these areas. But I have to take them on to keep my business running.
OPPORTUNITY:
Starve distractions to feed focus.
With help, small businesses can focus on what they do best and on growing their business while being able to rest easy that the jobs, in which they aren’t experts, are still being done well.
Not On My Watch
THE INSIGHT:
I don’t trust anyone to care for my business like I do.
I think others would say I am self-sufficient, maybe to a fault. I like to be in control of my business. It’s something I’ve invested everything in, and it’s a direct reflection of who I am.
I’ve heard lots of advice from other small business owners.
“Stay in your lane.”
“Figure out what you are good at and then find the right support to do the rest.”
“Give yourself permission to lean on others.”
But that’s easier said than done.
Unfortunately, I expect mistakes. Then, what do I do if I don’t have the time or resources to fix them? At best, it’s a headache. At worst, it’s going to embarrass me and cost the company. I want others to see me and my business thriving.
That said, it IS tremendously gratifying when you get what you want at the end of the day. Things just work out. It's something that you've invested in that's going to help you. Then, I can be proud of myself.
OPPORTUNITY:
Foster control by giving them confidence to yield control.
Small businesses can miss opportunities by holding on too tightly to every aspect of their business.
You can’t ask them to simply trust you, but trust can be earned. Do so by treating the relationship as more than a transaction. You are holding a piece of their lives and reputation in your hands. For them, it’s not just business.
Keep them connected to the process and assured in the outcomes. Offer collaboration, accuracy, timeliness, and efficiencies. And, as needed, offer ideas and solutions, not problems.
Give added value and advice vs. marketing and sales.
Mother Of Innovation
THE INSIGHT:
There is anxiety in being forced to make high-stakes decisions quickly.
Making the most of my small business, even in the best of times, requires more than luck. To thrive, one must have grit, agility and a courageous eye to the future.
That said, it’s easy to talk about the need for adaptation and growth, but when you have so much on your plate already, planning for innovation often falls to the bottom of my to-do list, especially if I don’t know where to start or know how much it’ll cost. Analysis paralysis settles in.
Recent times have made the urgency to innovate to meet rapidly changing consumer expectations a necessity — and one that I can’t put off. Our do-or-die world creates anxiety.
OPPORTUNITY:
Offer a place to start and a path forward.
In 2020, fear was a predominate emotion for small business owners, according to recent studies.
When it comes to adaptation, innovation and growth, offering small businesses a way forward can be the greatest help someone can offer.
With the right partner and guidance, a small business owner or decision-maker can overcome the fear and paralysis that might be keeping them from innovating.
Booming Boomers
THE INSIGHT:
Half of small businesses are owned by baby boomers and 85% don’t have a succession plan.
I started this business because I wasn’t ready to retire. I still have a lot of energy. My small business lets me work for myself and genuinely enjoy what I do.
I haven’t thought about succession planning because I am still just enjoying my business. It doesn’t help that I don’t know who would take it over. I have children, but they aren’t interested. They have their own dreams and lives. (Only 15% of small business owners are passing their business to the next generation.)
When COVID hit, it was a wake-up call. It put a brighter spotlight on the need for a plan, but I’m not sure where to start. How do I find a buyer? How and when do I transition? How do I make sure all the hard work I put into building my business stands the test of time?
OPPORTUNITY:
Help small businesses grasp the benefits of a strong exit strategy.
These business owners aren’t ready to settle down, but succession planning doesn’t mean the end. Proper planning enables the owner to run their business longer and paves the way to maximize the value of their business when they go to sell.
These customers need help realizing this reality and help getting their business in optimal shape.
Opportunities to build Emotional Advantage
A Baker,
Not A Banker
THE INSIGHT:
It’s hard to know how best to prioritize my day and energy.
OPPORTUNITY:
Starve distractions and feed focus.
Not On
My Watch
THE INSIGHT:
I don’t trust anyone to care for my business like I do.
OPPORTUNITY:
Gain control by giving them confidence to yield control.
Mother Of
Innovation
THE INSIGHT:
There’s anxiety in making high-stakes decisions quickly.
OPPORTUNITY:
Offer a place to start and a path forward.
Booming
Boomers
THE INSIGHT:
Half are boomers and 85% don’t have a succession plan.
OPPORTUNITY:
Grasp the benefits of a strong exit strategy.
Get In Touch
Of course, the consumer is only one part of the equation.
And just like every business is one of a kind, so to is our approach.
Give us 30 minutes and we’ll unpack, give context, and co-hypothesize parallels and paths of discovery for your brand.
We’ll look at your company dynamics, culture and competitors to map a new Emotional Advantage to create momentum for your brand, and drive transactions for your business.
To arrange a first pressure-free discussion, please contact Andrew.Dauska@RodgersTownsend.com
