Search for “Jack Ma Advice” on Google and there are no shortage of search results to choose from. Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba and one of the richest men in China. He’s often asked for tips on long-term business success and he isn’t shy to share his thoughts. If you’re a small business owner, though, pay attention to his pointers. Even though Ma leads a huge corporation, his lessons are very relevant to businesses of all sizes.
What are the tips we like best?
- People need to trust you
- Forget the competition, focus on your customers
- Take all competitors seriously
- Lead with vision, tenacity, and grit
- Don’t look back, just keep going
How Jack Ma’s Tips Relate To Your Business
Let’s look at how each tip relates to your small business, with a focus on location marketing and becoming the best option for people looking for what you provide.
1) People Need To Trust You
Having a strategy to monitor and respond to customer praise or criticism from online reviews is a critical element of doing business in today’s online world. People trust people like themselves and companies that stand behind what they do. Your clients do not expect perfection. They expect an honest and sincere effort to provide the best service and, when you fall short, they expect honest effort to apologize and repair the wrong. Have a strategy to encourage positive reviews and respond to the negative ones.
2) Focus On Your Customers
You have a choice. You can either spend time worrying about giant internet shopping sites that are certainly a factor. But while you’re worrying about them, your competitors will be happy to serve the customers near you that are looking for exactly what you sell. That’s why you need to optimize your ability to be found on search engines and maps. Control how you appear, don’t leave it up to an algorithm.
3) Take All Competitors Seriously
The likelihood that your customers are considering your competitor is real. And the closer they are to you, the more true that is. Any edge you can gain over your competition can be the difference between making a sale or being passed over. So make sure that you’re indexed and making it easy to found by local searchers. How you optimize your listing and solicit positive reviews matters when it comes to converting online searches to on-site traffic.
4) Lead With Vision, Tenacity, And Grit
Be the small business owner that is known for experimenting, trying new things and asking for customer feedback. Truly listen to what your customers have to say. Ask them for their feedback. Be available in person, by email, via text or online on review sites and let them know you’re there and truly listening. The effort you put into showing leadership to your clients and the example you set for your employees cannot be understated. But in the effort and you’ll be rewarded for it over the long term.
5) Don’t Look Back/Keep Moving
Marketing is all about learning, adjusting and evolving. Every step you take should be tied to a measureable objective, so you can gauge your performance along the path to your goal. Something not working? Make a change. Something working well? Build on it. Be flexible and allow yourself room to make adjustments. Move forward while learning from your past actions.
As a small business owner, what are some tips that you can share with others? What are some of the things you’ve done that have worked for you? Share your answers with us below in the comments!