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Small Business

The lobbying on payments equity for small business retailers continues

The Independent Payments Forum, a lobby organisation representing many small business groups including ALNA members and newsXpress members from our channel, continues to lobby for more equitable payments arrangements.

The core issue being dealt with here is that payment providers “bundle” low-cost debit card fees with high-cost credit card fees

  • The high cost: Many of us are stuck paying a single bundled rate as high as 1.6% for all card transactions.
  • The reality: The actual cost of a debit transaction is tiny—less than 0.5%.
  • The imbalance: The RBA estimates about 80% of transactions are now by debit card.

This means that for 8 out of 10 sales, we (and our customers) are paying a fee that is more than three times higher than it should be.

The current situation places an unfair burden on small businesses for the profit of the banks, because those in power for decades have not cared enough to support fairness for small businesses. We either matter to them, or not.

Here is their latest letter to the IPF, which had my signature presenting newsXpress members.

The letter to the RBA supports the government’s idea of making debit surcharge-free, but only if it’s done correctly. Banning all surcharges (Option 3) would be disastrous, forcing us to absorb all credit card costs or raise our prices for everyone

Small business retailers, like newsagents, are dealt with poorly by banks, the RBA, payments companies and politicians in this area. It is only continued lobbying, like the work of the IPF, that offers any hope of an outcome that’s reasonable for us.

This proposal by the IPF is a win-win if adopted by those in control.

  • For our customers: The 80% of customers who use debit cards get a surcharge-free transaction, as they should.
  • For our business: We stop losing margin by subsidising expensive credit cards. We finally get to pay the true low cost for debit and can fairly pass on the true cost for credit.

This proposal from the IPF is the only option that fixes the root cause of the problem. It brings fairness and transparency to a system that has been costing us—and our customers—too much for far too long.

What the IPF is proposing here is our best chance to fix a system that has been unfair to small businesses and our customers for too long. By standing with and supporting the IPS on this, we are pushing for a common-sense change. This solution allows us to finally offer our debit-using customers the surcharge-free experience they deserve, while ensuring our businesses aren’t left to pay for expensive credit card reward programs. It’s the only option that brings true fairness and transparency to our counters.

It does surprise me that other groups that claim to represent newsagents are not supporting the IPF.

…
Mark Fletcher founded newsagency software company Tower Systems and is the CEO of newsXpress, a marketing group serving innovative newsagents keen to evolve their businesses for a bright future. You can reach him on mark@newsxpress.com.au or 0418 321 338.

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Ethics

What a terrific promotion of independent retail in Chichester, West Sussex

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marketing

I think COSBOA is wrong on possible data law changes

Paul Smith writing at The Australian Financial Review reported yesterday that COSBOA opposes the small business application of changes to data privacy law changes.

The peak body representing thousands of Australian small businesses has warned against imposing the same new data privacy laws on companies of all sizes following the Optus data breach, saying it is unrealistic and unaffordable for smaller operators without extra government support.

The government and privacy commissioner have flagged changes to privacy laws to force companies to take their responsibility to protect sensitive data more seriously. This would include significantly raising fines and extending breach reporting responsibilities to small businesses with turnover under $3.1 million, which are currently exempted.

Alexi Boyd, chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, told The Australian Financial Review it would be senseless to impose new rules that would be impossible for operators like hairdressers and mechanics to meet.

“It’s really crucial that the government, when they’re making decisions like this, consider the impact on small business people of any regulatory changes because ultimately, it will be them who spends the money and the time implementing them,” Ms Boyd said.

“They don’t have IT departments, very few of them have IT management consultants on call, so they will be the ones that have to learn what to do and implement this, and it will potentially be an increased cost of business.”

…

Ms Boyd said the government should follow an approach of “education first, enforcement second” with small businesses, which were now making much greater use of data through software subscriptions and smart point-of-sale devices to operate more efficiently.

She said the digitisation of small businesses had happened rapidly, and that COSBOA would support any measure from the government to help mitigate the risk for both the business owner and the customers, whose data that they hold, which she said could involve education programs and potentially financial assistance.

I own a small business focussed POS software company serving 3,000+ local retailers, and I own four local retail shops in Melbourne. I think the COSBOA position as put is ignorant, and selfish.

Too often I see private personal data disrespected, collected and stored without consideration as to security and necessity. While most businesses I have seen do not fail to respect the privacy of their customers in this way, enough do for it to be a problem.

From what I can see, poor privacy practices are employed out of laziness, not because of the cost of tech or ignorance as to requirements. From what I see, people are lazy, entering credit card details into software that can be hacked rather than taking an easier step of using a secure and separate platform.

The need to respect the privacy of sensitive personal information is not new. No notice is needed as to this requirement.

I hope the government issues new and stringent standards and that they apply equally to all businesses. This is not a time for us to be soft, not for us, especially not for our customers.

The CEO os COSBOA appears to use examples that, to me, are nonsense.

“How do you do that? How do you get a hairdresser, or a cafe owner, or someone who is a fitness instructor to start doing this? What are you expecting them to do?” she said.

“Also, where does the onus and responsibility lie? Does it lie with the software companies that are holding that data, or with the small business owner? How does that even begin to work? It’s not something that you can just flick a switch on, because every small business digitises differently.”

Why would a hairdresser or cafe owner have any private data? For a loyalty program maybe. But not private data like a licence, passport number or credit card number surely?!

And then there is the comment about software. It’s not complex. they party collecting data from the public is responsible as that is where any privacy representation is made.

Also, some software does not store data in a place under the control of the software company. In the cases where it does, the software company has to share the responsibility.

Now is not the time for lobbying to dilute responsibility. We owe our customers more than this.

Let’s see what the government proposes before we get lathered up for a fight about what we think may happen, and then, let’s put the interests of our customers first.

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Small Business

Is the Optus data breach a big business problem?

Optus collected personal data from people, and, it appears, kept it long after the need for the data passed. Worse, if reports are accurate, Optus kinda left the data on the kitchen table with the back door open and the light on.

This is data requested initially from customers to check identity.  I’d like to know the government regulations / legislation requiring this identity check data to be stored.

The whole mess feels to me like a big business problem: overreach on data collection, no housekeeping to identify and securely delete data no longer required, poor data structure on data storage making theft of a useable batch easy, and inadequate protection of data required to be kept on-hand.

In my experience of decades working in software development, in government (CSIRO), big business (banks and mining) and in small business (Tower Systems), it’s the big business systems where problems like we have been reading about from Optus thrive.

In big business there are big IT teams, lots of stakeholders, lots of committees, lots of fingers. These are all very removed from the people personally responsible. In fact, who is personally responsible in a business the size of Optus: the CEO?, senior management?, the Board?, the Shareholders? … who knows.

In small business, if I ask a customer for an ID check for some reason, they show me their licence or passport and then return it to their bag or wallet. I don’t copy it. I don’t enter their details in my computer system. I don’t keep it longer than I need.

If I screw up and leave personal details of a customer out for anyone else to see or take, I am responsible. I know it. My customers know it.

Okay, it’s maybe not the best example. But, actually, it is. In small business we tend to be lean, and efficient, taking action necessary to get the job done. We, well I know in my own small business situations, I and those work work with me tend to not hoard things, we tend to not hoard data, and we respect value, and security. We use our safe for that, and we do not leave the door open or pass out the combination.

Small business owners are closer to their customers in a practical sense and in everyday life. We understand them and  respect them because our customers are us, or at least like us.

In big business, customers are numbers, pieces of data, and, too often in big business, data, especially old data or data not part of today’s push to drive the share price up is not as mission critical and may therefore be left on the kitchen table with the back door open – because no one was watching, wondering, or worrying about and for those who provided the data.

So, yeah, I read the Optus situation as a big business problem. Until there are share price impacting consequences for what has happened we should expect more events like we have seen in the last week.

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Ethics

Tips for good Zoom meetings for small business retailers

Zoom, and similar video based, meetings are here to stay. They are an efficient way for small business retailers to connect with colleagues, suppliers and other groups appropriate to their situation.

While Zoom meetings are still new for many, here are my tips for making the best contribution and getting the most from any Zoom meeting.

  1. Have a computer with a good camera and microphone.
  2. Be dressed.
  3. Be in a quiet room.
  4. Have a good background.
  5. Keep your mic muted unless you have something to say.
  6. If you are eating – do it off camera.
  7. Be prepared for the topic – do some research so you have information to share and / or questions to ask.
  8. Be active in the meeting, participate. There is nothing worse than people who come to watch.
  9. If you have something to say or ask, ask it in the meeting. Don’t private message, text message or Facebook message the organiser to get them to make your pint or ask your question.
  10. Participate planning to contribute. Zoom meetings are usually about collective engagement. That means you.
  11. Don’t be scared. Sure, the tech can be daunting. However, you soon get the hang of it.

I urge newsagents to suggest Zoom meetings instead of rep visits. This will save time in-store. It also guides supplier reps to be more focussed on what they want to pitch and discuss.

I expect that with lockdown restrictions being eased there will be a rush of rep visits in-store. Unless well managed these will waste time. Suggesting Zoom, or similar, meetings instead could help businesses with tight rosters save time.

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Small Business

A practical, small business and local economic stimulus package for suburban and regional Australia

Every election, politicians say that small business is the lifeblood of Australia. Then, after the election, they forget about small business. No wonder trust in politicians by Australian voters is low.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Not just retail businesses, but all small businesses. Oh, and by small, we mean locally owned businesses turning over $2M or less that are not part of a larger group.

Small business retailers are nimble and able to lift local economies faster than big businesses and certainly better than online businesses.

Here are six tips for politicians on steps they can take, decisions they can make to help lift retail, especially small business retail, as well as those local businesses with which small business retailers can quickly connect.

  1. Local shops refresh grant. Give every local retail business a grant of at least $25,000 with the stipulation that it is spent locally on capital works for the shop, to improve the shop. It could be for paining, carpentry, electrical, staff training or similar. Proof of local spending is to be in the form of an invoice from a local tradesperson or small business company with and ABN and more than a year of trading as recognised by the ATO – to avoid fraud. Spending could be focussed: painting, electrical, carpentry, flooring, repairs. The management of this should be online with quick approval and payment. Note: the $25,000 is suggested to provide sufficient local economic stimulus.
  2. Local visual merchandising supports. Keeping in-store displays can be a challenge for small business retailers. Fund a network of merchandisers to make a 2 hour call weekly on qualified independent small retail businesses, sub $1M turnover, ABN registered, trading for six months or more. With each visit to be about visual refresh of the shop. Cap the cam pain at three months assess the economic value. Only local merchandisers to be used – i.e. to an overseas agency who hires local contractors.
  3. Direct all politician electorate spending to be with local small businesses. For printing, subscriptions, gifts, parties, cards, everything for a year. Have the results assessed independently. Ensure that spending is fair, too, to benefit a variety of local businesses, and not dolled out as political favours. Shop local, shop small.
  4. Run a national shop small shop local ad campaign. Make it educational, smart, encouraging …, guiding Aussies on the value to them from shopping local, shopping small. Help to understand the true value of shopping local, shopping small compared to the alternatives. The ad campaign should run regionally across multiple media platforms, giving preference to locally owned platforms with a track record for not managing their business to minimise tax.
  5. Local artists grants. Offer cash grants to fund buskers for local high streets, to make shopping locally more entertaining. Make the application easy. Focus on local artists entertaining in their local community. This serves the dual purpose of injecting cash locally as well as fostering the local arts. The application process should be online, approval fast and payment immediate.
  6. Establish local currency systems. These work overseas on regional towns where local currency has more value than the national currency. It supports shopping local through a smart value structure. the government role could be on the tech back end to manage the currency – taking away capital cost from local councils. To find out more ab9out this, read up on the Bristol Pound.

This list could be much longer. It is offered here as a start, to gets people thinking of practical ways to support shopping small, shopping local.

The current disinterest by politicians in practical support for local small businesses has us on a path of business closures. Urgent action is needed to engage locals in supporting local businesses.

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Small Business

I love this story of a Blue Mountains local who supported their local newsagent amid bushfire challenges

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Small Business

Suggestions for politicians on how to kick start small business retail in Australia

Every election, politicians say that small business is the lifeblood of Australia. Then, after the election, they forget about small business. No wonder trust in politicians by Australian voters is low.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy.

Small business retailers are nimble and able to lift local economies faster than big businesses and certainly better than  online businesses.

Here are six tips for politicians on steps they can take, decisions they can make to help lift retail, especially small business retail.

  1. Direct all politician electorate Christmas spending to be with local small businesses. For gifts, parties, cards, everything for a year. Have the results assessed independently. Ensure that spending is fair, too, to benefit a variety of local businesses, and not dolled out as political favours. Shop local, shop small.
  2. Run a national shop small shop local ad campaign. Make it educational, smart, encouraging …, guiding Aussies on the value to them from shopping local, shopping small. Help to understand the true value of shopping local, shopping small compared to the alternatives. The ad campaign should run regionally across multiple media platforms, giving preference to locally owned platforms with a track record for not managing their business to minimise tax.
  3. Local shops refresh grant. Give every local retail business a grant of at least $10,000 with the stipulation that it is spent locally on capital works for the shop, to improve the shop. Proof of local spending is to be in the form of an invoice from a local tradesperson or company with and ABN and more than a year of trading as recognised by the ATO – to avoid fraud. Spending could be focussed: painting, electrical, carpentry, flooring, repairs. The management of this should be online with quick approval and payment. Note: the $10,000 is suggested as anything less could be cosmetic.
  4. Local artists grants. Offer cash grants to fund buskers for local high streets, to make shopping locally more entertaining. Make the application easy. Focus on local artists entertaining in their local community. This serves the dual purpose of injecting cash locally as well as fostering the local arts. The application process should be online, approval fast and payment immediate.
  5. Local visual merchandising supports. Keeping in-store displays can be a challenge for small business retailers. Fund a network of merchandisers to make a 2 hour call weekly on qualified independent small retail businesses, sub $1M turnover, ABN registered, trading for six months or more. With each visit to be about visual refresh of the shop. Cap the cam pain at three months assess the economic value. Only local merchandisers to be used – i.e. to an overseas agency who hires local contractors.
  6. Establish local currency systems. These work overseas on regional towns where local currency has more value than the national currency. It supports shopping local through a smart value structure. the government role could be on the tech back end to manage the currency – taking away capital cost from local councils. To find out more ab9out this, read up on the Bristol Pound.

This list could be much longer. It is offered here as a start, to gets people thinking of practical ways to support shopping small, shopping local.

The current disinterest by politicians in practical support for local small businesses has us on a path of business closures. Urgent action is needed to engage locals in supporting local businesses.

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Small Business

Business guru Mark Bouris: small business retailers will be winners from a retail recession

The opinion piece from Mark Bouris published at news.com.au over the weekend should encourage small business retailers. It is a reminder of what is unique and valuable about small business retailers, local retailers.

Bouris notes the indicators of a coming retail recession and explains why local small businesses should do well from it. He compares the local shopping experience with online:

But contrast that with the last time you popped into your local butcher, for example. The person behind the counter probably knew your name, knew what you wanted, and was in a position to offer you expert advice on what was fresh, what to buy, and how to cook it. That’s the kind of personalised service that goes a long way to convincing a shopper to part with their hard-earned, and it’s the kind of shopping experience that only small retailers can provide.

And it’s not just butchers, of course. I was walking down Glebe Point Rd in Sydney the other day and spotted bookstores, cycle shops, boutiques and antique stores, all staffed by experts in their field, ready and waiting to assist customers in any way they can. And happily, there were plenty of customers, too.

The mistake I most often see small businesses make is trying to compete with the giants of their industry. But it’s actually what sets you apart from the big boys that makes the difference. And that’s more true now than ever.

This goes back to the three questions I asked last week as they relate to differences small businesses can bring and evolve, to differentiate to big businesses as well as online businesses…

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Small Business

Small is the competitive advantage of small business retailers

Small is beautiful. Small businesses are the backbone of the nation. Local businesses support the local economy.

We have heard the pitches from politicians, community leaders and small business owners themselves for years. Yet, many small business owners remain focussed on size. It is like big is better, big is what matters.

I have been at a retail conference this week looking at the future of retail and like most retail management conferences, there was no consideration of small, no appreciation that small is good. The whole focus was on what we (retailers) need to do to reach more people, sell more, make more … to get bigger. Size was lauded, it usually is.

I get that big businesses are obsessed with size. They have no choice, especially public companies. It is unfortunate that some suppliers to small businesses and some small business owners themselves get caught up in the chase of size and scale. I think this is a mistake. Getting bigger is not important. Getting better is far more important as that is where we can find value for us and our customers.

In retail especially there is no shame in being small. Indeed, small can be a valuable competitive advantage.

Small businesses can be more personal, more attuned to the local, able to move faster, able to be human.

Whereas big businesses are investing extraordinary amounts to use artificial intelligence to personalise contact and service delivery, small businesses can do this in a human way, a more authentic way.

The challenge is when a big business is trading in direct immediate and local competition to your small business. Their AI leveraging and scale mean that the labour cost per item sold will be considerably less than for the small business.

So, how can a small business that wants to stay small compete in this rapidly changing world? My advice is to be less of a target, look less like the big business competitor, copy them less, package goods so they cannot be price compared, change your shopper engagement so that it is not easily compared to big business … and, be lean, efficient, profit driven and attractive for reasons relevant to today.

At the conference this week one example used to drive growth was loyalty, points based loyalty, tracked through an app. It is very cool, customer friendly and easy to use. It drives sales for sure. If shoppers paused and thought about that company’s obsession with loyalty they would realise it is priced in the price of what they buy. Pushing back on the experience to shoppers who love the brand is difficult.

I think our best approach in small business retail is to know who/what we are and to live it at every opportunity. Be authentically small business and local, embracing every opportunity to demonstrate that. Buy local. Leverage local knowledge. Reward locally. Live locally. And, where possible, push back open big business tactics.

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Small Business

Why are there so many empty shops in Australia?

Talk to any small business retailer and they will have stories about empty shops in their area that are having a negative impact on their business.

In shopping centres, suburban high streets and country town main roads, there are plenty of empty shops.

Some have been empty for years.

Empty shops make a shopping centre or area feel unpopular, making the task of attracting shoppers harder for remaining retailers.

Some councils have been innovative in addressing the vacant retail space challenge by opening them to local makers and artists. Most councils, however, have not.

Why are there so many empty shops? Talk to retailers and they will blame landlords for rents that are too high. Talk to economists and others expert in retail property space as a ratio of population and they will say that Australia has too much retail space. Talk to the folks in some specific towns and they will blame the main street empty spaces on the new mall that has opened just outside town. Talk to almost anyone and they will blame online. Talk to some landlords and they will say retailers are not innovative enough.

As with any contentious issue that has opposing vested interests, it is hard to get to the truth of the situation.

For what it is worth, my opinion is that the answer to the question lies in a mixture of the reasons offered above.

I do think we have too much retail space in Australia. Rent is among the highest in the world. Retail is not that innovative. People are shopping online for convenience. So, yes, I am hedging my bets.

That said, the why does not matter as much as what to do with them.

Occasionally, you can find a pragmatic landlord who is happy to have a space filled at a lower rent than sit empty for a year or more. I think we need more pragmatic landlords.

Occasionally, we see small business retailers burst out of what has been traditional for their type of business and create something genuinely innovative, which is embraced by local shoppers. We need more of this.

Occasionally, we see empty shops torn down and the space used for something difference. We need to see much more of this.

The challenge for small business retailers today with empty shops nearby is how to deal with the stench of those empty shops.

If your landlord has those shops too and there is one next to you, ask them if you can use the space for display. To me, that would be a win win for you both.

If the shops are not from your landlord, the most obvious response will be to be louder and bigger from your premises. By louder, I mean more events to attract shoppers, give people more reason to come to you.

The best way to deal with online is to be online yourself, with a compelling offer, probably under a brand that is not your shop brand, seeking out shoppers far from your shop location.

The alternative to action is to complain because, yeah, complaining achieves a lot … not.

Empty shops are a problem in Australia. How we deal with that in our own retail businesses comes down to us and the actions we take.

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Newsagency challenges

News Corp’s Coles Little Shop Mini campaign is a mess and hurts for small business newsagents

What a messy weekend for for newsagents because of the News Corp. promoted Coles Little Shop Mini campaign. The company aggressively promoted the free offer one the front of the paper, the paper sold in newsagencies.

FREE TODAY. WITH THE PAPER. The pitch on the front page of the Sunday Herald Sun is clear. However, it was not free with the paper, not in newsagencies. No, we had to tell shoppers they needed to go to Coles to buy then paper to get the free Little Shop Mini. How ridiculous. News Corp. sold newsagents out.

This is another example of the giant News Corp. siding with its mate the giant Coles Corporation, to the detriment of small business newsagents.

Customers at newsagency counters were angry yesterday and Saturday. Plenty wanted to argue about it from what I am told. This disrupted the shop and impacted negatively on the business.

Yet, newsagents we’re innocent. Telling people to the fine print inside the newspaper did not help.

Here is the detail of the offer inside the Sunday Herald Sun yesterday. The fine print is really fine and that made people angrier. Just give me my F&*$ing little shop thing you moron one customer said to the newsagency sales assistant. No one should have to put up with this anger. And, we would not have to put up with it if News Corp. did a better job executing the campaign. They did not. They failed us. They failed small business. All to benefit a big business mate in Coles.

Take a look at the fine print from yesterday’s Sunday Herald Sun…

Burying this as they did, News Corp. setup trouble for newsagents and other non Coles retailers.

What a mess.

Those responsible at News Corp. owe newsagents an apology for the harm done, the hurt caused and the disrespect shown.

Now, a note to newsagency suppliers who also supply Coles – what has happened here plays into how newsagents feel about your engagement with the supermarket giant and other giants. For here we have a long-term newsagency supplier, one we launched distribution for in this country acting in ways that hurt our businesses and our brand in our local communities. How we feel about this plays into how we feel about your involvement with Coles and similar.

One newsagent told me yesterday that this campaign will bring forward their decision to cut newspapers from their shop as they are sick of the lack of control over the impact this mediocre margin product has on their business.

19 likes
Ethics

Small business marketing videos

If you are looking for unbranded shop local and small business supportive social media content, here are some I released to small businesses using software from my POS software company.


 

 

 
Short videos are popular on social media.

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newsagency marketing

Why you should not use your card company, or any supplier, as a source of capital

For decades, some card companies in Australia have loaned capital to newsagents in the form of cash, or fixtures or equipment items as an incentive to sign long-term agreements. Some other suppliers have done this too.

Most loans are repaid through rebates, discounts off purchases, through the term of the agreement. Some are paid off through regular, non transaction related, payments.

Card companies have used the financial assistance offer as a carrot to win new business. It has worked well for them and for newsagents who may not have been able to easily source capital elsewhere.

For years, whenever I have been asked by newsagents or someone entering the channel about tapping a card company for funding, I have said don’t do it. That remains my position today.

Supplier provided capital funding comes at a cost. Some agreements I have seen, are unfair. In one case last year, the agreement I saw had a real cost to the business way above reasonable interest rate level. It was structured to roll on as a significant handcuff to the business with the fixtures involved having a book value eight years on when they should have had zero value by then.

I appreciate there can be challenges in raising capital in small business. In my experience you are better off without supplier funding than the challenges that can come with having it.

However, if you do go down this path…

  1. Do your homework.
  2. Do not rush.
  3. Understand all of the documentation.
  4. If in doubt, get legal advice.
  5. If the agreement asks you to acknowledge that you have had legal advice, make sure you get it.
  6. Do not sign if you have any doubt whatsoever.
  7. Make notes of all supplier representations leading up to the signing of the agreement.
  8. Keep a copy of the signed agreement and your notes from the time together in one place.
  9. Fulfil your obligations under the agreement.

The time issues arise from supplier funding agreements small business owners are usually at their weakest. Protect yourself from this by doing the necessary legwork up front and ensuring you fully understand what you are walking into prior to signing anything.

Card companies and suppliers have not set out to get people. Circumstances have seen it look like it though. With personnel changes as they are, it is only there words on the page with your signature that matter if there is a dispute. This is why records you keep can be vital.

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Ethics

Missing Ansett Airlines

Seventeen years ago, Ansett Airlines was grounded, never to fly again.

I miss Ansett, it was an terrific airline. I also miss it it because it was the underdog, the I think I can commercial competitor to the government owned airline. It fit well with me in a small business sense.

What I really miss abut Ansett when I travel is the service. There was something about it that was unique, something one does not see today from airlines. I got the impression they knew that service was a key differentiator for them.

While businesses often say that their service is a differentiator, the customer experience does not so often reflect this. For me, the Ansett experience was actions speaking louder than words.

I am in a couple of frequent flyer forums where Ansett comes up from time to time. People often speak in glowing terms of the company and their experiences with it.

That Ansett is talked of in such glowing terms today, seventeen years on, demonstrates that their service pitch was on-point, that they got it right. Many of us in business would wish the same good memories for our own businesses.

Getting customer service right is hard, especially today in the era of instant outrage, which is aided and abetted by the megaphone of social media. Because of this world, the bar is higher than ever and accountability more public than ever before.

While it is nice to look back nostalgically at Ansett, and years for those times, today is today and we in business must run our businesses for today’s situation. We have to operate knowing that even the smallest mistake can blow up and reach thousands in seconds. We have to focus delivering honest, engaged and valuable customer service We have to do this in a way that differentiate titans us from competitors on our street, in malls and online.

I get some motivation from Ansett stories in forums today when I read them because they remind me of a customer service experience I truly appreciated, an experience that differentiated the Ansett product from its competitor and, for me, that is at the heart of business competition.

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Competition

Shop local data attracts kudos

Staff on the road for my newsagency software company Tower Systems have been provided a branded t-shirt with this image on the back. The reaction has been terrific, with people commenting positively about the data shared.

I had the infographic designed as an alternative to the a-frames I see used by small business retailers. I figured that facts could be leveraged to pitch the importance of small businesses in our economy.

Politicians only appear interested in small businesses at election time and event then their interest feels, to me at least, ignorant.

The small business community in Australia is important and valuable. I think we need to embrace every opportunity possible to pitch the facts of this.

9 likes
Small Business

Burn!

A supplier at the Toy Fair in New York this week has posters on the outside-facing wall of their large booth inviting comment. This one re Toys R Us had one tough comment.

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Small Business

Good campaign by Oxfam on corporate tax avoidance

I support the campaign by Oxfam calling on companies to pay their fair share of tax. While it is the campaign against online sales that is getting media attention, there are plenty of businesses, big businesses not paying their fair share of tax. News Corp. in Australia has come under fire on this as have others.

While the Oxfam campaign focusses on the impact on poor countries, Australia would be a better country if big businesses here paid their fare share of tax and if they did not receive the handouts they receive.

Small business does more heavy lifting as a percentage of turnover than big business. That needs to change. It will only change when we have politicians on all sides who stand up to big business.

9 likes
Ethics

Politics gets in the way of policy on penalty rates

The instant analysis world we now have thanks in part to social media has seen the decision of the Fair Work Commission to cut Sunday penalty rates 12.5% turn into an ill-informed class battle for which the politicians are to blame.

The politicians created the independent umpire and left it to provide leadership on issues they consider too contentious for them to show leadership themselves.

Media reports and tweets reflect an ignorance about penalty rates.

For me, the question is: Is $39.82 an hour (plus super) for a 21 year old on a Sunday reasonable? Whether they are a retiree looking for extra money, a single mum or a uni student is not my concern. My concern as a retail business owner is – is $39.82 an hour fair pay?

I think $39.82 an hour is too much. I am happy with the 12.5% reduction. In fact, I think it could have been a bit more.

But this is where the politicians need to show leadership for you can’t have a conversation about cutting penalty rates in a climate where too many big companies are not paying a fair amount of tax, Centrelink is taking action against debts that often do not exist, politicians grant themselves above average pay rises every year, big business CEOs get millions for share price movement and large corporates are pitched a tax break.

Our politicians need to show leadership on the big picture here. If they did that, then genuine reform across multiple points of the economy might be possible.

As a business owner I am not responsible for the economic circumstances of my employees. I am responsible for paying the correct pay and meeting all other obligations. Circumstances outside the business are not my responsibility as that is what I pay payroll tax, company tax, GST, superannuation, PAYG, fuel excise and myriad other taxes for. The problem is, these many taxes are not used as well as they could be. Indeed, pigs on all sides of politics with their snouts in the taxpayer trough rort the system so much that is makes many of us look at issues like penalty rates as a what’s in it for me discussion.

Real leaders would step back and say: okay FWC, you have had your say. Now, lets look at the whole of the economy and make a series of moves in pursuit of fairness across classes on the basis that a healthy whole economy is more important that health for one class at the expense of another.

The debate that has been raging in Australia for the last two days since the FWC decision is a reflection of poor leadership on all sides in this country.

Please, can we pull this back from a debate? Can we have a conversation? And can we, for a moment, forget about pursuing headlines or a retweet?

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Ethics

New Lottoland ad continues the sledge against small business newsagents

Here is the new ad from Lottoland. It continues to sledge and mock newsagents. I suspect they are doing this because small business newsagents are easy targets for them. This ad and their earlier ad could help Tatts by migrating people from in-store purchase to online. Tatts could benefit from this migration whereas small business newsagents do not.

From what I can see, those who claim to support newsagents are quiet about what to me looks like an attack by Lottoland.

Where is Tatts in this battle? If they really cared about their retail network they should be out there, on TV, supporting the network. Instead, their main engagement at the moment is the demand their retailers spend between $25,000 and $35,000 on in-store infrastructure without a plan on how this will help in combating this new competitor.

As I noted here earlier this week, the Lottoland product offer is compelling. It is their attack ads I find offensive to small business newsagents.

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Ethics
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