Five ways to look like a big fish in 2015

As we gear up for another year, it’s a great time to think about how to take your small business to the next level. A great idea only goes so far when you’re competing with companies of all sizes who are vying for attention from customers that are risk averse (or suffering from inertia). These days you don’t need a big ad budget or crazy publicity stunts to stand out. Many successful startups are discovering the trick of the “blowfish effect”: using customer service to look like the big fish in the pond even though you’re still a guppy. Here are five ways to create the blowfish effect for your own business in 2015:

1. Be fast. It’s no longer just enough to give customers a thoughtful, well-considered response. You also need to do it fast! The blowfish effect can help you outmaneuver large competitors that are hamstrung by clunky service solutions. Get a customer service solution that’s optimized for mobile so agents can help customers around the clock. Fast-growing startups like HotelTonight, which offers last-minute hotel reservations, are seeing the benefits of fast service. After instituting a ten minute response rate they saw a 300% growth in bookings.
2. Get personal. You don’t need a big team with highly customized software solutions to deliver the personalized responses that customers want. When you automate repetitive tasks you can free your agents to craft personalized messages that are the hallmarks of big companies like Amazon or USAA. Just look at One Kings Lane, an online marketplace with a spectacular collection of top brand, designer, and vintage items, which empowers agents to use their own words in every communication and to spend as much time as they need to resolve customer issues.
3. Be unique. Customers often assume that companies with strong brands are big. Isn’t branding a luxury that the small guys don’t have time for? Wrong! You don’t need to be a big kahuna to have a unique and compelling brand. BarkBox, a monthly subscription service that delivers treats and toys to dog lovers, views every customer service interaction as a way to showcase their unique personality, with responses like “Apawlogies” and Pooches Gracias.” It’s working well — the startup grew 1000% last year.
4. Extend service online. More than 90% of consumers will check the web for answers before emailing for help, so your website can make a huge difference in how you are perceived. If you invest in a comprehensive online support center that reinforces your brand, consumers have no way of knowing that you have one writer posting solutions, not a team of 20. Who would guess that that Rdio, the social jukebox with over 30 million songs, has just six agents to support its customers across the globe?
5. Go social. More than 3⁄4 of online users interact on social networking sites. Their friends are there and they expect their favorite brands to be too. Social is a great place for blowfishing — no one can tell in the social world whether you have a support team of 200 or just two. Herschel Supply Company, a small Canadian company that produces high quality bags and accessories has just two full time agents. They regularly engage with customers via Facebook and their page doesn’t look a whole lot different from older, well established brands.

The blowfish effect can help your guppy look like a whale. Put it to work for your company in 2015, and you can grow faster than ever.