Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about the importance of supporting small businesses for a strong economy. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact.
ABD: We hear a lot about the need to shop at small businesses to help the community. Why are small businesses so important to the CSRA?
Rick: It’s the most important thing. There are big businesses that won’t make the investment to come to a city this size. In order to get all the services we want, we need small businesses. Small businesses sometimes reduce the risk for larger businesses because they show the demand. So it’s critical because we wouldn’t have those things.
Small businesses and franchises are the backbones of the service industries. They’re things we kind of take for granted until they’re not here.
ABD: You mentioned franchises – how are they small businesses?
Rick: Many franchises are also small businesses – they have the backing of a larger company, but they’re locally owned. For example, Chick-fil-A typically doesn’t award more than one franchise to a single owner because they want them to be invested in the community.
ABD: Investment in the community seems to be a hallmark of small businesses.
Rick: Small businesses are the people you want to support because they’re more likely to invest back into the community – supporting things like Little League teams, high schools, and nonprofits. And at the end of the day, more new jobs come from smaller businesses. If small businesses are successful, typically, the economy of the community is stronger. It’s a win-win for everybody.
ABD: Often people overlook small businesses because they don’t know about them or think about them. What are some things small businesses can do to attract local customers?
Rick: A lot has to do with customer service. You’ve got to find ways to differentiate yourself from the big stores to make it worthwhile for customers to come to your place. The advantage of being local is you can become trusted. If you pride yourself in customer service and are involved in the community, people will support your business.
It’s also good to find niches, areas that the big stores can’t offer. That and provide excellent service. Be like Cheers, the place where everybody knows your name.
ABD: One of the advantages big national stores have is a lot more advertising. How can small businesses compete with that?
Rick: If you use social media effectively, it’s a little easier now. Small businesses have always depended on word of mouth. Social media now is like word of mouth with a bullhorn. It allows a business to promote itself and have the ability to interact with customers, to be more responsive to them. If you treat customers well, you’re much more likely to get a social media post about your place. The younger generations are much more likely to rely on social media than traditional advertising.
You can still be quaint and be supported by electronic media. The power of social media is pretty amazing.
ABD: As people head into the gift shopping season and with Small Business Saturday coming up on Nov. 26, what are some important things to remember about shopping at small businesses?
Rick: For small businesses, customer service becomes the differentiator. You’ll never be able to compete on scale with the big stores, so your prices will always be a bit higher. Get to know your customers and your employees. When you look at successful small businesses, it’s because the business owners treat their customers well and treat their employees well, and then the employees will also treat the customers well. Because if you’re not getting treated well by a small business, why not go to a big store and get something cheaper?
On the consumer side, we have an obligation to support our small businesses because then, our economy will be better. It’s important that we, as individuals support the local businesses because if we lose them, they may not be replaced and we run the risk of losing things we want.
We need large businesses to be the bedrocks of the economy but in order for a city to survive, we need small businesses.
