Small Business Marketing Tip: Admitting When You Are Wrong!

Here’s a fact: as an entrepreneur, one day, you are going to encounter an unhappy customer. You may or may not do something to upset the customer, but the customer will be dissatisfied nonetheless. For me, this has been hard, as I tend to find myself always in the right. But you will learn that sometimes taking a serving of crow or humble pie is the only way to ensure your business thrives.

Scenario: there was a dispute over the number of hours I billed a client. I was able to justify the time spent, but the client felt it was excessive. I had two choices. I could stand my ground and say that the hours were well documented and insist on getting paid (and risk the client ending the contract as soon as possible) or I could be flexible and negotiate some of the hours as discounted (and keep the client happy).

I chose the second path, and the client was impressed that I’d been so flexible and understanding. Sometimes you will face taking a loss financially to keep a customer (who, not only will bring you more revenue as time goes on, but can also refer more business to you). Ask yourself if it’s worth a few dollars to potentially lose a solid customer. In the long run, you won’t even miss that insignificant profit.