When you deal with a company where everyone knows you by name, you feel at home. If you have an inquiry, complaint, or simply want to know how your order is coming along, you can rely on a reputable local company to welcome you in and provide complete transparency throughout the process.
There is more to buying local than simply supporting the companies in your area. A successful business understands its customers and their needs. As much as you want to help homegrown companies endure, it is also important that you receive the highest standard in both products and services. At LogoWear Express we have a few ideas about what makes for a great customer experience from a local business.
Excellence in Customer Service
The people you speak to from a company will shape your customer experience. It doesn’t matter if you are inquiring about a product or service, or you are making a complaint. How you are treated by the faces or voices of the company will have an impact on your likelihood to give that company your business again. Every business; whether small, medium or large, makes mistakes. Excellence in customer service ensures errors are corrected, and adequate steps are taken to bolster customer satisfaction.
While local companies do not have a monopoly on great customer service, they do have an edge. The businesses in your area are likely owned and staffed by people who are just like you. They understand your wants and needs, from social identity to cultural traditions. You could spend weeks trying to explain your local expectations to a national company and never get anywhere close to the product you envisioned.
Local Knowledge
There really is no substitute for local knowledge. Sure, big business can conduct extensive market research to learn about a customer base, but only companies that are local to you will truly understand the culture and norms of the area. If you need specialist knowledge that speaks to your own customers, visitors or supporters, trusting a company who shares that same vision is the only way to go.
Local knowledge is also time and labor saving, in that you won’t have to constantly go back and forth with a company to nail down the main concepts of what you need. If your business requires screen-printing, embroidery, and promotional products that include references to an obscure local landmark, for instance, only a nearby company can fully capture your ideas and take them to the next level.
Accessible Showroom
If a company boasts about having a showroom, it’s of no use to you if that showroom is five states away. You have no way of directly consulting with the company on product development, without relying on words, pictures, or videos. The problem with that is, you are relying on determining the quality of workmanship from what you can see in a 2 dimensional image. The finished product could fall apart at the seams, leaving you desperately searching for another provider.
Access to a local showroom provides you peace of mind, knowing you can visit a company’s premises and conduct your own product quality checks. It also helps to meet the people who are providing the product and get a feel for whether their work ethic and standards match your own. This is especially true when it comes to promotional products that will ultimately reflect on your business or brand.
Forging Close Relationships
It’s difficult to create close working relationships with faceless entities. It is easy, however, for a customer service agent at the other side of the country to string you along. That is not to say the majority of customer service workers are unscrupulous. It is more to the point that closer relationships are forged between people who are actually able to meet face-to-face. A company that cares will want to promote a family feel in every interaction with customers.
When you deal with a company where everyone knows you by name, you feel at home. Those people care as much as you do about your satisfaction as a customer and will go above and beyond to cater to your specific needs. If you have an inquiry, complaint, or simply want to know how your order is coming along, you can rely on a reputable local company to welcome you in and provide complete transparency throughout the process.
High Quality Products
No one is suggesting you should support a company simply because it is local. However, what you will often find is businesses near you are all too aware of the state, national, or even international competition they are facing. If a local company provides great customer service, a timely response to inquiries, and a place where you can meet the family, you are all but assured the product is of a high standard. Local companies often start out as a labor of love. That means every product is produced to the highest standards and in line with your exact specifications.
If you need screen-printing, embroidery, and promotional products in or around Chandler, Arizona, LogoWear Express is here to provide excellence in products and service.
