Attention to the little things is key

Musicians build on the fundamentals and construct layers of music where every detail is scrutinised through production. Photo/File

I have a client who is setting up a business overseas and we are working through the strategic plan via Skype.

"It's the little things that matter," she said in relation to the United States market as it applies to her business model.

On Friday I met a business owner in Auckland who is taking a strategic view of his situation and undertaking a plan to take it in a new direction. This business is in the hospitality sector, one of the most competitive, and is highly dependent on discretionary spend.

In this case we have a business owner who has taken stock of his current model and determined a new direction which will be rolled out over the winter period - the ideal time to make material change in the industry concerned.

Again, he said: "It's the little things that matter."

These discussions with businesses outside of Wanganui got me thinking about how little changes can yield big results for local business and, conversely, from how you can invest a lot of time and effort and resources into big initiatives which come up short.

Sure, the success of business ventures are more likely when you have done your homework. However, when there can be such power contained in small changes, it might behove us to turn over some small stones before we charge into something big.

And, as consumers, we tend to become loyal to those businesses that we frequent which make the effort to do the little things well.

Knowing your customers' names is a classic way to do something small which has a big payback. As soon as you use someone's name the interaction becomes personal and moves up the scale from a simple contact to a relationship and you are much more likely to make a sale and retain that person as a client.

This is the case if you are a sole business owner or managing an international. For all the glitz and bravado of major marketing budgets, I still go out of my way to purchase goods and services from businesses where someone makes the effort and treats my request as more than a source of revenue.

As with many things, there is both upside and risk to the "little things".

Too often the little things, or the fundamentals, are glossed over and service and products suffer as a result. If you say that you are going to call by a certain time, then do it. If you are going to deliver quality, then make sure that quality exists. If your people don't have customer service skills, then train them.

The list is long but the consequences of getting these small things wrong can be material because if you cannot do the little things, no one will trust you with the bigger stuff.

The power in doing the little things right also exists in other arenas. In sports, the team that wins will be the one that executes the little things or "the basics" best.

In the performing arts and acting, those who excel are those who capture every small detail of their character. Musicians build on the fundamentals and construct layers of music where every detail is scrutinised through production.

Russell Bell's Zenith Strategic Solutions is a Wanganui business advice and consultancy practice - 021 2442421.