Introduction

Travelling to any destination requires a certain degree of dedication for research. From zeroing down on places to visit and modes of transport for easy movement, to keeping a tab on the cheapest flight tickets, there is a whole lot of planning that undergoes when it comes to travel. However, a crucial aspect, probably the most important one, is booking a place to stay for the duration of the travel. People look for comfort, convenience and a welcoming warmth in the places they choose to stay and these are often a combination of several important aspects. In this article, let’s look at some of these things which people must consider before making their hotel reservations.

Hotel Location

While choosing a place to stay travellers need to not get carried away with the glitz and glory of popular accommodations. Sometimes the best of hotels may not be situated favorably. By that, we mean that convenience plays a pivotal role in making a place truly enjoyable. Proximity to eateries, grocery stores, local transportation hubs etc is necessary for travellers of all kinds to have a good time when they are at a new destination. Restaurants at hotels are not always affordable for everyone and so aren’t the can facilities that they offer for city tours etc. Availability of options is, therefore, always a bonus.

Now that we have access to digital maps through Google Maps and the likes, it is a great idea to check whether the hotel reservation you’re planning on making would suit your needs.

Hotel Rooms

This might seem like the obvious answer when it comes to things to consider before making a hotel reservation, but, it is often also the area where travellers succumb to deception. Pictures do not always give accurate information and hotels get away without mentioning exact details of their rooms on OTA platforms or even their own websites. Size of a room, availability of amenities like a kettle, refrigerator etc may seem like small matter but, can add to the overall experience.

Hotel Reviews

Travellers of today are very different from those of earlier days in terms of the fact that they have more power in their hands, thanks to the digital world. Every experience, whether good or bad, almost instantly makes its way to a review website. These days even OTAs and metasearch engines take special care to ask their patrons for feedback after their stay. In such a scenario it is easy to get a holistic perspective of how a hotel fares, giving people an opportunity to not fall flat on their faces on knowing the reality of things. It is, therefore, sensible to scan through reviews to know what to expect from a hotel you’re planning to stay at.

Hotel Reputation and Pricing

In most cases, a hotel’s reputation and pricing go hand in hand. Chain hotels or renowned properties are likely to have a higher price point compared to their competitors. While one might need to do quite a bit of research to arrive at a place that suits requirements as well as budgets, it is worth every bit of time and effort. Trust comes easily with established names, that have been in the business for a long time. So, make your hotel reservation at a place you can completely rely on to back you up no matter what.

Hotel Safety Protocols

The pandemic has made it inevitable for hotels to pay extra attention to cleanliness and safety protocols. Travellers are extremely cautious about the practices in place at hotels that ensure a safe stay. While some hotels or accommodation providers may seriously consider these, some have the tendency to cut corners. After all, extra precautionary measures do require that additional investment be made and not all are entirely willing to take them up. Before making a hotel reservation, it is ideal to thoroughly check their website or other information sources for a detailed explanation of the procedures in place. A hotel making ardent efforts would always put up an explanatory document for the convenience of their visitors.

Conclusion

Booking a hotel should never be a hurried affair. Taking time to study a hotel’s offerings is always likely to result in a satisfying experience. However, a few points, such as the ones listed above, must take precedence over other things. Do not hesitate to reach out to your accommodation provider for more information on things that matter to you, but have no or negligible mention on their website or other sources.

Home to coastal paradises and vibrant cities, South Carolina is also one of America’s most business-friendly states. Over 1,100 new businesses started up in 2019 alone, contributing to more than $234 billion in overall state income.

Nearly 400,000 small businesses call the Palmetto State home, and 96.9% of all South Carolina businesses are small businesses. Together they employ over 743,000 workers — 46.9% of the state’s workforce.

With over 5 million people in 46 counties and 7 major urban areas, South Carolina is a hub of trade, tourism, innovation, and more, making it the perfect place to start a business.

Why These Businesses Made Our List

How did we find the best businesses to start in South Carolina? ZenBusiness did the legwork for you, analyzing South Carolina’s economic trends and diving into the latest U.S. census data to track down underserved business types within the state.

In other words, we’ve built a list of turnkey business opportunities, ready for entrepreneurs like you to dig into today. So scroll down, get inspired, and get started. Then, let us know when you’re ready to lock down the details.

South Carolina Economy

Are you ready to work up your business plan, own your own business, learn how to form an LLC, or form an LLC in South Carolina? No matter the products and services, there is a large opportunity to build up in business friendly South Carolina, especially growing and trending businesses such as:

With a mixture of rural areas and close-knit small towns and cities, South Carolina has metropolitan areas with some of the most successful entrepreneurs, including:

  1. Seneca
  2. Greenville
  3. Myrtle Beach
  4. Greer
  5. Beaufort
  6. Georgetown
  7. Orangeburg
  8. North Charleston
  9. Fort Mill
  10. Mauldin

South Carolina is regarded as a state that’s friendly to business. In August 2020, South Carolina’s unemployment rate was down 2.4%, to 6.3%, and the state maintains strong employment in industries such as:

Area Development ranks South Carolina #5 in the nation for doing business, and South Carolina can be a perfect state for many businesses. Sole prop or partnership? Corporation or LLC? Whatever type of business you want to start, here are some other factors to keep in mind when deciding what business to start in South Carolina:

Small firms with fewer than 100 employees represent the majority of small business employment. State-wide hourly earnings in private industry average $26.37, and you can expect that number to increase in major urban areas.

South Carolina sets itself up to be business-friendly in other ways too. Industry benefits from power costs that are 12% lower than the national average. The state’s taxation is also more benevolent toward business than many states: No wholesale tax, no state property tax (but local property taxes may apply), and no local income tax (though state income tax may apply).

In addition to business-friendly South Carolina state fees, tax credits are available to companies creating new jobs in South Carolina. There’s also no sales taxes on industrial power, materials used in finished products, or for the manufacture of machinery, and businesses can take advantage of extensive business incentive programs and workforce development programs.

7 Best Businesses to Start in South Carolina

With all that said, what’s the best business to start in South Carolina? Here are some to consider.

1. Start a Food Truck or Restaurant

From barbecue to shrimp and grits and okra to frogmore stew, South Carolina’s strong food culture, vibrant tourism industry, and growing cities offer substantial room for new flavors, fusions, and innovations.

Through 2022, US food service is expected to grow 3%. With a vast array of food cultures across South Carolina, now could be a great time to start a restaurant or food truck.

Remember, though, that each business model has its own requirements, upsides, and downsides. 

When figuring out where in South Carolina to start your food business, educate yourself on favorable areas, regulatory headaches, trends and diner preferences, and other current factors affecting the industry, such as:

2. Start an IT Company

Forget Silicon Valley; how about Silicon Harbor?

South Carolina is an emerging tech hub, and major companies such as Google, Blackbaud, SAIC, and BAE Systems already call the Palmetto State home. Charleston especially ranks high in top spots for mid-sized cities booming with IT jobs that attract millennials. As you start and grow your South Carolina IT company, you can draw from a growing labor force.

The state also has incentives and other programs to encourage IT growth. Wondering what niche to start your business in? Consider growing sectors like human resources, IT, cybersecurity, and custom software.

3. Start a Grocery Store Business

From smaller stores like North Charleston’s urban farm and grocer nonprofit Fresh Future Farm, to multi-location spots like KJ’s Market in Quinby, Florence, and Johnsonville, the state is also home to the chain BI-LO and other major retailers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

Think through what sort of grocer you want to be. Do you want to buy into a supermarket franchise? Do cities like Charleston or Greenville suggest a specialty store, like a niche grocer in specific cultural foods or vegan groceries? Keep in mind, too, that there are different cost and profit structures for different types of stores.

4. Become a Freelance Writer

With little more than good internet access, a smartphone, a computer, and a home office space, you could set up shop as a freelance writer anywhere in the Palmetto State.

Freelance writing can take many forms. You could write about tourism in Myrtle Beach, or politics in Columbia. Companies always need business-to-business or business-to-consumer content. That’s true now more than ever in today’s age of social media, company blogs, email newsletters, and YouTube videos.

South Carolina’s booming business sectors may need freelance writers, too. Consider specializing in industries like life sciences, agribusiness, or logistics.

5. Become a Consultant

Sales, tourism, business, accounting, tech, and communications are all good fields for a consultant. If you have expertise in a field, you could consider becoming a consultant for that industry.

When you’re building a consulting business, it can help to have a network of contacts in your chosen industry. Also, make sure you’re willing to do the in-person and online work it takes to build and expand that network.

Worldwide, consulting was a half-trillion-dollar industry in 2019, and you can find profit opportunities for consulting in South Carolina. In 2020, for example, 7,215 consultants worked in South Carolina, and management consultants typically earned $34,310 – $110,310.

6. Start a Beauty Salon

South Carolinians know that the beauty salon isn’t just a place to get your hair done. Salons are also community gathering spaces — so much so that in 2020, many salons became hubs to encourage voter registration. 

As you plan your beauty salon, there will be state laws and codes to comply with, especially after reopenings in May 2020, under expanded pandemic sanitation protocols. Also check the South Carolina Board of Cosmetology’s licensure requirements.

Keep in mind your salon startup costs, too, such as around $27,000 for equipment and up to $20,000 for consumable supplies.

7. Set up an E-Commerce Store

In 2020, over 265 million shoppers purchased goods online in the US alone, and that number is expected to grow even more by 2024. With the continued growth in online shopping, the time could be right for you to choose a niche and open your own e-commerce store, right from your home in South Carolina. 

Identify what you want to sell and how you can market to customers. Work through the platform that will run your store (such as WooCommerce or Squarespace). Also review South Carolina’s rules for starting your business, and check the state’s registration and tax requirements.

Other great businesses to start in South Carolina

Great startups aren’t limited to the industries above, though. South Carolina entrepreneurs know the state is fertile ground for great ideas small business owners should consider. South Carolina is the home of many growing industries and sectors, and here are some other fields that may be ripe for opportunity:

Key Takeaways

Ultimately, the best business to start in South Carolina is yours to decide. Choose a business model that’s been tried and tested, with low startup costs, and you’ll be on your way to helming a successful business venture.

This 17th-century port city initially known as “Charles Town,”1 offers a bit of everything to visitors: stunning architecture, world-class dining, historic charm, natural beauty. Yes, tourists flock to the city for its role in the country’s history, the candy-colored Georgian homes of Rainbow Row, the intoxicating cobblestones streets, lush landscapes, and towering church spires that give Charleston its “Holy City” moniker, but the city also has a thoroughly modern vibe, with galleries, restaurants, breweries, local shops, and recreational activities that cater to locals and visitors alike.

Here’s a complete guide about when to visit, where to stay, what to do, getting around, saving money, and more on your visit to this city on the South Carolina coast.

Planning Your Trip to Charleston

Things to Do

First-time visitors will enjoy wandering the streets of downtown, whether that’s to enjoy the stately old homes, waterfront views, or to pop into one of the numerous galleries and retail shops.

History buffs will enjoy a walking tour or visit the Charleston Museum, the Fort Sumter National Monument, or Patriot’s Point Naval & Maritime Museum, while the South Carolina Aquarium is a must for families. Arts aficionados will want to explore the Gibbes Museum of Art, the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, and Charleston Music Hall. Outdoor enthusiasts will want to take a beach day to enjoy activities like biking, boating, and golf in nearby areas like Kiawah Island and Isle of Palms.

And don’t forget to fuel up for your adventures: the city is home to several award-winning restaurants like Husk, FIG, and The Ordinary, as well as local distilleries and breweries.

Explore more activities in Charleston with our guides to the city’s best ghost tours and 13 Fun Things to Do in Charleston.

What to Eat and Drink

Charleston is a hot spot for seafood as well as both traditional and modern Low Country-inspired cuisine but also has its share of international fare ranging from Indian to Sichuan to Italian. With a large student population due to the College of Charleston and its recent graduates as well as the Medical University of South Carolina, the city also has a thriving nightlife and bar scene.

Located in a former 1920s-era bank, The Ordinary on King Street is a haven for seafood and oyster lovers, while its sister restaurant FIG offers a tight menu of seasonally-inspired protein and vegetable dishes along with an award-winning wine program. 167 Raw and the Darling Oyster Bar are additional higher-end options for seafood aficionados, while those wanting a more relaxed culinary experience might opt for the more casual Nana’s Seafood and Soul.

Other standout restaurants include the farm to table-focused The Macintosh, soul food classic Bertha’s Kitchen, low country-centric Hannibal’s Kitchen, the Asian-influenced Xiao Bao Biscuit, the hyper-local and much-lauded Husk, the neighborhood Italian spot Le Farfalle, and the elegant fare at Zero Restaurant + Bar.

For bars, King Street and the adjacent streets in downtown are home to several of the city’s best. Visit the Bar at Husk for its extensive bourbon collection, The Gin Joint for its namesake spirit-inspired cocktails, Cane Rhum Bar for tiki drinks, Prohibition for jazz-era inspired tipples and The Living Room at The Dewberry Hotel for a post-dinner nightcap in midcentury luxury.

Where to Stay

Historic District: This is where you’ll find the city’s most conveniently located hotels, like the grand Hotel Bennett overlooking Marion Square, the historic Francis Marion Hotel, and the swanky midcentury throwback The Dewberry as well as reliable chains like the Hyatt Place, Hampton Inn, and Holiday Inn.

West Ashley: This suburban neighborhood just a few miles west of the city and across the Ashley River also offers affordable, accessible accommodations like Best Western and La Quinta Inn and Suites.

North Charleston: Located near the airport, convention center, and North Charleston Coliseum, and about ten miles (20 minutes in traffic) north of downtown, North Charleston is an affordable option with standard chains like the Hampton Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, DoubleTree, and Holiday Inn and quick access to attractions like Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Middleton Place, and Drayton Hall.

Mount Pleasant: This suburb north of the city offers waterfront views and accommodations at reliable chains like the Wyndham Garden and Hampton Inn and Suites and provides easy access to Patriot’s Point. It connects to downtown via the Arthur Ravenel Bridge.

Additional accommodations and short term rentals are available in neighboring areas like Kiawah Island, James Island, Folly Beach, and Isle of Palms, but will require long drives to the city.

For more about accommodations, see our guide to the city’s best hotels.

Getting There

Charleston International Airport (CHS) offers direct flights to and from Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, and other U.S. cities via major airlines like Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest.

From the airport, it’s a 20-30 minute drive to downtown. Rent a car, catch a rideshare like Lyft or Uber, hail a taxi, or take the downtown shuttle, which is $15/passenger and leaves within 15 minutes of request. Also, note there is a $15 minimum charge for all taxis leaving the airport.3 For those traveling by train, Amtrak has a stop in North Charleston, near the airport.

Charleston is an easy drive from nearby destinations like Savannah, Georgia, (100 miles south), Myrtle Beach (90 miles north), and Atlanta (300 miles northwest). Most of the city’s hotels have parking lots or valet, so driving a car into the city isn’t an issue.

Money-Saving Tips

charleston sc at night cityscape

If you thought Charleston was a vibrant city in the daytime, wait until you’ve experienced it by night. Sip cocktails at a waterfront bar, embark on a Holy City ghost tour, or dance beneath the stars on the Cooper River Bridge. No matter how you spend your time, you won’t run out of things to do in Charleston, SC, at night. Read on to discover the city’s top nighttime attractions, and if you’d like more recommendations, view our free Charleston Area Vacation Guide. Our guide is designed to help our guests spend less time planning and more time having fun!

The Best Things to Do in Charleston, SC, at Night

1. Embark on a Charleston Night Tour

If you are searching for something romantic to do in Charleston by night, consider a horse-drawn carriage tour. These tours are an excellent way to acquaint yourself with downtown Charleston. Because temperatures drop in the evening, twilight carriage tours are also ideal for those visiting during the summer.

If you’d like a spookier experience, take a ghost tour! You’ll learn all about the infamous ghosts of Charleston, visit haunted graveyards, and even explore the Old City Jail.

2. Enjoy Waterfront Dining

If you are staying on Kiawah Island or Seabrook Island, Salty Dog Cafe is popular for casual, waterfront dining.  You’ll find this waterfront restaurant at Bohicket Marina. On the menu, you can look forward to fresh-caught fish, local shrimp, and oysters on the half shell. Sample from the raw bar or order an island-style craft cocktail. Then, sit back and relax on the spacious patio as you watch pelicans fly over the sea and sailboats glide by!

For more recommendations on the best places to dine in the Charleston area, read our blogs on Kiawah Island restaurants and Seabrook Island dining.

3. Sip and Savor Charleston’s Craft Beer Scene

The craft beer scene has taken off in the past several years, and it is booming in Charleston. Currently, the city is home to over 25 local breweries. Many of these breweries, such as Revelry Brewing and Low Tide Brewing, feature special events and guest chefs during the weekends.

For those who prefer wine, make a trip to Fortyeight Wine Bar in Freshfields Village. Their menu offers over 48 items, 48 craft beers, and 48 wines by the glass. During the summer, happy hour is Monday through Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. You can also enjoy wine tasting events every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.

More Unique Things to Do in Charleston, SC, at Night

4. Paddleboard by moonlight with Waterdog Paddle on a guided tour.

5. Enjoy a sunset cruise with Captain Jack’s Kiawah Sailing and Dolphin Watching.

6. Sip wine and explore the art galleries of The Holy City at The Art Walk.

7. Cheer on Charleston’s home team at a Riverdogs baseball game.

8. Rock out with live music at The Music Farm.

st. phillips church, charleston sc

o you’re thinking and looking for reasons to visit Charleston, SC but you’re not 100% sure…is that right? If that’s the case, we came up with seven reasons why you should visit Charleston.

1.) Amazing Tours & Attractions

Charleston has some amazing tours, attractions and historic sites to checkout. We recommend visiting our tours page to see what’s available. Another great option that’ll save you money and the hassle of figuring out what to do is to purchase a Tour Pass which also includes an easy to use Mobile Pass. Below you’ll find our top-rated must do tours/attractions:

2.) Culture

Charleston is known for it’s easy-going Southern laid back style. Everything from sweet tea, seersucker suits and patterns to shrimping and boating on the local rivers and waterways are what makes Charleston unique.

3.) Food

Charleston is known world-wide for amazing local Some James Beard Award Winning Chefs and restaurants hail from the Charleston region along with some top recommendations.

4.). Events

When Covid isn’t present, Charleston is known for some amazing events and people travel from all over the world. Here are the “can’t miss” top events in the city:

5.) Shopping

King Street is where it’s at when it comes to the mecca of Charleston shopping. For local Vendors the City Market is worth visiting as well.

6.) Nightlife

There are plenty of amazing nightlife locales in the Charleston area such as Upper King Street (above Marion Square) to Shem Creek and Folly Beach.

Breweries: Charleston is home to over 30 amazing breweries now! We recommend visiting a few when you’re in town. Checkout or download the Brew Hop Pass app, which is free to download. If you want to redeem some of their free beer offers you can simply subscribe…if you’d rather pay full price you can as well.

7.) Beaches

There are three public beaches in Charleston that include:

types of customers

As a customer support agent, you will interact with a variety of people, each with their own temperament.

Customer service isn’t one-size-fits-all, so being familiar with the various types of customers you might have to help can give you a leg up.

Here are just a few of the different types of customers you should be able to identify in order to adjust your approach to best deal with a specific need.

5 types of customers

  1. New customers
  2. Impulse customers
  3. Angry customers
  4. Insistent customers
  5. Loyal customers

1. New customers

Newcomers are always going to have a few questions about how things work but might not always know how to ask.

If they’re in your help-center already, they clearly liked something about your product and probably aren’t looking for you to upsell them.

New customer needs most likely involve looking for guidance through an issue that agents might find simplistic. However, just because these tickets aren’t always the most challenging, it is still important to serve them to the best of your ability.

If their first customer experience with support is a good one, there is a great opportunity to create brand loyalty and hopefully turn them into repeat customers.

Retained customers are easier to convert than first-time buyers because they already have a foundation of trust with a company they’ve bought from before.

That’s why patiently guiding new customers through their problems will set your company up for success by showing customers from the start that your business is one that cares about the people they serve. Rotating who deals with new customer tickets can also give your agents a break from more complicated work and help remind them that it’s not always about getting bogged down in the details.

What new customers need from customer service professionals:

2. Impulse customers

This customer is quick to buy when something catches their eye, but aren’t always the best at reading the fine print. So in situations where these types of customers get a product that isn’t exactly what they thought it was, they might be impulsive in calling customer support as well.

The impulse customer does sometimes have a legitimate support concern and so initially they should be approached as you would any other ticket.

Yet if it becomes clear that they called your department a bit prematurely, then it’s time to get them redirected as soon as possible. Impulse customers tend to contact support centers with questions about product use cases, warranty, or return policy, so it can be helpful to have a short on-brand script prepared for these situations.

Utilizing macros that send automated responses when triggered by certain questions can also save your agents’ valuable time while keeping customers engaged.

If the customer is frustrated about being rerouted, sympathize with their position but be sure not to promise anything that is out of your purview as a support agent. Of course, retention should be the goal of most customer interactions but if someone truly bought something they didn’t know what was then helping a customer out of a bad situation should be your first priority.

What impulse customers need from customer service professionals:

3. Angry customers

Whether they are just having a bad day or have encountered the same issue one too many times, you will have to deal with some customers that aren’t being very friendly.

As difficult as this category can be to handle, it is important to remember that they are frustrated for a reason.

Having a strategy in place for angry customers can have a huge impact, so you never want to seem unsure of the situation as this could frustrate the customer even more.

Speak clearly and calmly while explaining to the customer exactly what needs to be done for them to get out of their predicament.

If the customer is being rude or hurtful try not to take it to heart and remember that they probably see you as another cog in a machine that has caused them a lot of trouble.

Working to improve your empathy skills can be very effective in dealing with frustrated customers. Being able to see a situation from the customer’s point of view might allow you to reimagine the ways in which you could provide support.

Yet just because a customer is angry does not mean the rules do not apply to them. Don’t be afraid to ask if they would like to speak with a supervisor if your interaction is reaching a dead end.

Be sure to try and collect customer feedback from angry customers, as there was likely a part of their customer experience that could be improved for the next person.

What angry customers need from customer service professionals:

Types of difficult customers and how to help themRead blog

4. Insistent customers

Here we have a case of the highly informed customer types.

These shoppers usually do quite a bit of research before finalizing any sales and so have probably tried a number of solutions before they contacted customer service.

When dealing with an insistent customer, it is important to provide proof that you have a more effective way of solving their issue. Easy access to a knowledge base or other informational content can greatly improve this process.

At the same time, it is crucial to be polite and accommodating with insistent customers to satisfy their need to feel influential.

These types of customers can easily be turned into angry customers if they feel the support your company provided was condescending.

One strategy that could provide a boost for marketing is to ask these customers to share their experience on your company’s FAQ page. This is a customer-focused way to let them feel heard while adding user-generated content to your knowledge base.

What insistent customers need from customer service professionals:

5. Loyal customers

This should be one of your favorite types of customers, but they may also be expecting an even higher standard of service.

Having been a part of your customer base for years, the loyal customer is the joy of the sales department. Yet there is added pressure for the support team to be aware of and able to handle any specific needs this customer might have.

Since they already have a preference for your company, loyal customers can be a way to foster organic marketing if you can get them to share their story on social media.

Yet this requires that their support experience is a positive one. Your organization could benefit from having a way to identify loyal customers with relevant context such as their previous issues, purchase history, and contact information for personalized interactions.

It also helps to be proactive when it comes to loyal customers. That means getting ahead of an issue before it escalates or even happens.

And even if the issue they have isn’t completely your company’s fault, offering some discount or loyalty reward can be a great way to appease loyal customers and increase the likelihood that they will tell other potential customers about your business.

What loyal customers need from customer service professionals:

What every type of customer needs

Customer needs often depend on the customer’s type of injury or problem, their attitude, and relationship they have with the company. But there are a few things all customers expect in a good customer service experience, according to our Customer Experience Trends Report:

types of customers

Digital financial services are growing globally, with a variety of offerings (more than 250) now serving 300 million people in developing markets according to the GSMA. However, inactivity rates are staggeringly high, with as many as two-thirds of registered digital financial services users inactive, and the cross-sale of products beyond simple person-to-person transfers in many markets is limited.

CGAP’s latest Focus Note, “Doing Digital Finance Right: The Case for Stronger Mitigation of Customer Risks,” reveals new evidence on customers’ perceptions and experiences with risks, and the ways these risks harm their trust, uptake, and use of the services. Ugandan consumers, for example, report that risks resulting from network and service unreliability deter them from using mobile money. Lapsed users – those who have been inactive for at least 90 days – in Tanzania say that they limit their use of digital financial services to emergency situations because recourse options are poor, and they fear making a transaction error they cannot resolve.

The Focus Note reviews current evidence on customer risks, including nationally representative quantitative surveys from the Financial Inclusion Insights (FII) studies and the Agent Network Accelerator (ANA) studies conducted by InterMedia and the Helix Institute, respectively, and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It also draws on findings from four consumer protection-focused country case studies commissioned by CGAP (Bangladesh, Colombia, Philippines, and Uganda), analysis of FII qualitative findings and other available research on customer risks in DFS.

The report identified seven key risk areas for customers of digital financial services:

1. Inability to transact due to network/service downtime

This is the most commonly-cited risk area, with 59% of Ugandan and 52% of Kenyan users reporting experiencing service downtime. It can lead to risky customer behaviors such as leaving cash with an agent to conduct a transaction later when the network is back up. It also presents challenges if customers need money urgently and cannot cash-out until the network resumes.

2. Insufficient agent liquidity

This is the second most common risk-related area, and commonly prevents customers from transacting and accessing their money. In addition, when an agent lacks liquidity, customers are often forced to make several, separate transactions and pay higher total fees as a result. The Agent Network Accelerator studies find that 14% of daily transactions in Tanzania and 10% in Uganda are denied because agents lack the liquidity to complete the transaction. This problem particularly plagues bulk payment recipients (such as G2P recipients). Because recipients often receive their transfers all on the same day and want to cash-out immediately, agents struggle to meet liquidity demands. The recipients are often among the poorest in a country, and the extra fees and the delay in receiving their benefits can be extremely problematic.

3. Complex and confusing user interfaces

This issue frequently causes user errors, such as sending money to a wrong number, which are difficult to resolve and often result in financial loss. Difficulties with the menu also cause many customers to seek assistance conducting transactions, requiring them to share private information (such as their PIN) with an agent, family member or friend. This practice exposes customers to potential fraud by the person providing help.

Photo by Silvia Baur 

4. Inadequate provider recourse

Complaints and dispute resolution options are often unclear. Furthermore, time, money, and airtime are lost as customers travel to customer care centers or wait on hold for call center staff, who may or may not be able to solve the problem.

5. Non-transparency of fees and other terms

This prevents customers from fully understanding the details of services and leaves them vulnerable to agent misconduct and price fraud. For example, a study of 500 users in Nairobi, Kenya, showed that 35% of them linked to a particular bill pay service thought the service was free, despite audits of their accounts showing a fee deduction each time they used the service.

6. Fraud perpetrated on customers

Customers can experience fraud at the hands of provider employees, who may gain access to accounts and use the private information for dishonest purposes, or external fraudsters who use social engineering scams such as phony promotions to obtain money or information from unsuspecting customers. Customers also experience fraud perpetrated by agents, including charging unauthorized fees, forcing customers to split transactions, or accessing private customer information.

7. Inadequate privacy and protection of customers’ personal data

Disclosure of data handling practices is often weak, with details available only on a website to which few consumers have access and in “legalese” which is difficult to understand. In addition, most consumers are unable to assess the current and future risks of clicking on the “agree” box for data-related terms and conditions. Stolen or compromised data may be used for identity fraud or criminal purposes, or could harm a customer’s credit profile.

Fortunately, providers of digital financial services are focusing more attention on these issues, and are beginning to incorporate solutions into their business models. The analysis for the report identified five priority areas for provider action, which will be discussed in subsequent blogs in this series.

7 Facts of Business Success

After over forty years of owning businesses, Bill McBean shares the success factors that propelled his ventures to new heights. Whether turning around underperforming auto dealerships or forming new investing and administrative services companies, Bill has seen what works and what doesn’t. He recently wrote The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don’t, and I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his formula for business success.

Why do most businesses not achieve the level of success that they should?

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It’s usually a combination of reasons versus one specific reason. These reasons are, in no particular order: 1) an opportunity with little potential for gross profit and net profit; 2) a lack of knowledge of the important elements, or basic fundamentals which create success; 3) a lack of leadership knowledge of how to move a business “from here to there”; 4) a lack of knowledge of how to compete; 5) a lack of overall business knowledge (not to be confused with industry knowledge).

This is not a comprehensive list, but in my opinion from what I have seen they make up the vast majority of business failure or lack of success — and it’s rarely just one of these reasons. Instead it is a combination that can kill or seriously hinder the success of a business.

Your book outlines seven “facts” that successful business owners understand and utilize. We don’t have time to go into all of them, but how did you develop and choose these seven?

It probably wouldn’t surprise you if I told you these ‘facts’ chose me rather than me choosing them. By this I mean in all my years of business ownership these 7 facts were the ones which cost me the most money — either in not optimizing an opportunity or by not paying enough attention to a particular fact that ended up taking a big bite out of my wallet.

The ‘facts’ are really the basics or the fundamentals of business ownership. This is important to understand because improvement and lasting success will not occur if the business basics or fundamentals aren’t continually focused on, worked on, and improved. This is just one of those laws of ownership that can’t be escaped — it’s the way it is. These facts, or business fundamentals, give a focus to owners and their management by identifying and describing how each of theses fundamentals will be worked on.

One last element about the ‘facts’: they are sequential in nature, meaning they are listed in order of which one to focus on first, second, third and so on. For example, leadership always comes before management/control. This is true because leadership defines where the business is headed, what’s important to accomplish, etc. Without this type of guidance, management is left to figure out what should be managed, which leads to missed opportunities, frustration and chaos within a business. Or it’s hard to protect assets without knowing which assets need protection and why (leadership) or the expectation for assets potential without setting up and outlining management control. Or, it would be impossible to develop a plan without knowing what needs to get done (leadership) what is to be controlled and what the objectives are (management), or what assets are needed and how they are to be used and maximized.

The facts are every owner’s and manager’s reality, and how well they are understood and focused on separates the successful businesses from the struggling and the failures.

7 Facts of Business Success

Fact 1: If you don’t lead, no one will follow.

Fact 2: If you don’t control it, you don’t own it.

Fact 3: Protecting your company’s assets should be your first priority.


Fact 4: Planning is about preparing for the future, not predicting it.

Fact 5: If you don’t market your business, you won’t have one.

Fact 6: The marketplace is a war zone. Every company has competitors, and if it doesn’t and it’s successful, it soon will.

Fact 7: You don’t just have to know the business you’re in; you have to know business.

One of your concepts or “facts” is that “planning is about preparing for the future, not predicting it.” Do you think most teams prepare in the way you suggest in the book? How can they improve?

The first answer is No. Successful businesses all have planning as part of their core business philosophy or culture — it’s one of the reasons they are successful!

To be good or improve business planning, it’s important to realize several realities. The first is to realize planning is a skill, and because it is a skill the more you use and develop it the better you become at it. Secondly, planning is a marathon, so start simple by collecting important market data, which defines the market and your business place in it. For example, choose the appropriate course of action to move the business forward; create objectives with a time line; and then match expectations to results, fixing those which didn’t work and improving on those which did. And, then expand planning from there. Thirdly, planning, and how well it is done, and the discipline it creates, is one area which shows the owner’s willingness and dedication to make their business a success, their individual talent, and their passion for competing. The reason for this is because planning is hard to implement and track, and because it exposes weaknesses and forces accountability from ownership on down — and because it’s hard to implement and forces discipline, most businesses don’t do it — which gives those who plan well a great advantage in the market through market share gains, and for bottom line improvement.https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/18549427

What are the elements of a good business plan?

Just to clarify, seldom do businesses have the same market opportunities, available capital, product lines and culture, etc. meaning every business plan is different. But, having said this, every business plan has some commonalities:

  1. Destination or vision– where is the business going, and what will it look like and when will it get there?
  2. Mission statement (DNA or culture): how the business will operate on a daily basis and what operational processes will have to be in place in order to achieve the vision. The mission statement also includes how employees will work with other employees and how they will handle the customers.
  3. Goals. What will be the major goals to achieve in order to achieve the vision.
  4. Analysis. Includes understanding the internal business strengths and weaknesses, where it is in the market in relation to competition, size of market, and how the business stacks up against others.
  5. Strategies. Developing an action plan based on the above realities.
  6. Objectives. Short term in nature and shouldn’t be overwhelming in number but are set based on the goals in number 3 above. If they don’t match up, then more work has to be done on the above elements until they do.
  7. Summary and communication. Sharing the plan and objectives with those who are responsible for executing and implementing them
  8. Implementation. The rollout of the plan in an orderly manner
  9. Review. Look at the expectations and review against the actual results. Fix what is necessary and improve on the strengths.

In order to plan effectively these nine elements have to be present, and each element has to work with others in order to be effective. Plans are constantly in flux and change because not everything happens as expected, and it’s the leader’s responsibility to change the plan when both outstanding and unfortunate results happen.

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How important is culture to business success?

I defined culture as DNA in the book; to me they both mean the same thing. Without DNA, there will be no operating procedures — just chaos. There will be no accountability, no internal direction for improvement, or guidelines on how to treat other employees or the customers. In other words failure will result — and fairly quickly.

Control is something you discuss at length. You say “if you don’t control it, you don’t own it.” You say that “more companies go out of business because there is too little control than because there is too much.” How does “control” fit with the concept of “empowerment”? When is the balance right?

That’s a good question. In my mind control and empowerment are two concepts parallel to each other rather than position opposites. This is because the reality of business is that processes operate the business, and employees operate the processes. Processes are developed and designed for creating expected outcomes as well as used as quick alerts to possible problems. It’s the processes which must be continually controlled, watched over, improved, and created as a business grows and keeps up with customer expectations and demands. These processes are critical to success and add value as do the results from control of how these processes are working. Control is watching over these important processes — which protect the business, and add value to it — and the results are continually sent to the highest levels of the company and acted on at the highest level when there is deviation. Control is watching, developing and improving processes within the business — and making sure they are followed, and expected results from these processes get sent to the highest levels.

Empowerment, in my mind, is simply giving an employee who has earned the right to be trusted more responsibility and accountability. Within the parameters of the processes empowerment isn’t giving up control; it’s having someone else watch over it for you.

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Where do most businesses struggle when putting a strategy together?

I think the struggle comes three ways. First, having the correct and pertinent information to be able to create a meaningful strategy. Second, having the ability to be able to “read” the tea leaves, so to speak, and develop a reasonable plan of attack. And third, having the discipline to implement the strategy, and the leadership ability to be persistent, disciplined and flexible in order to make it happen.

You say that knowing business is what matters, not the particular industry or business you are in. Would you elaborate on your thinking?

This is a good point, and thanks for bringing it up. Knowing business is fact number 7, and is the last of the business basics, or as I describe them the facts of business life. The context is you always have to know the business you’re in as indicated in the previous six Facts of Business Life, but Fact 7 is one that deals more with the macro, meaning expand your horizons, see how other industries handle the same business issues you have, and learn more about business overall, like financial statements, leadership, motivation, reward techniques, and so on. Ownership is a profession, and as in any profession, the more you learn and know, the better you and your business will become.

I love the art of the turnaround, and you’ve successfully fixed some ailing businesses and made them profitable. Tell me more about your experience. What is the first step you take when you assume responsibility for a troubled business?

First I identify why the business isn’t operating well. This is more of an internal study than an external examination. Then I always begin — before anything else — on day 1, by reassuring the employees their jobs won’t go away. I explain to them that we are in this for the long haul and expect to grow the business — thus creating opportunity for employees to grow with the company. The purpose of this is threefold: First it relieves employee anxiety and relaxes them about their employment situation. Second, employees in troubled businesses have had worries about their future and look for assurance the business will get turned around — and they can be part of it. And, third it gives them an immediate first impression of the new owner. This is an important step, but so is finishing the meeting by creating a “line in the sand” on an ethical position, which is the springboard to creating a new company culture. For example, I always finished these first meetings by making the same statement: “In this company we do not lie. if you lie to a customer, if you lie to an employee, if you lie to anyone connected with this company, including vendors — you will be fired. To this there is no compromise.”

And thus begins the building and creating of the company’s DNA. No conversation about sales expectations, threats, or false bravado, just a simple message, but one with an unexpected punch.

What are the characteristics of a great leader?

I get uncomfortable with general statements on leadership because in my opinion, leadership is more evolutionary than any one, two, or three specific things. Of course, leaders have to have certain general characteristics like having a ‘vision,’ which describes what the success destination looks like, and the courage, persistence, flexibility, self analysis, and discipline needed to take a business there. However, I also believe leaders are created, not born, meaning as a business evolves leadership and the type of leadership that is needed changes as the business matures. In other words leadership and its specifics which are needed to create success, is different from the leadership needed to remain successful, and light years ahead of what leadership looks like on the first day the business begins.

However I would like to mention two very underrated and often ignored leadership basics: The first is leaders need to have the ability to self-analyze themselves in terms of their ability and experience, which prevents them from overstepping their talent and experience. Without this ability the possibility to set themselves up to fail is very real. Second, the more leaders one develops in their business, the more successful the business will be and the quicker success will be achieved. This is because leadership is at the core of any lasting success, and the more leaders one has, the stronger the business becomes and the quicker objectives and goals are achieved.

Is there one mistake you made early in your business career that ended up being a valuable lesson for you later?

I made lots of mistakes. Thankfully none of them were terminal, but they were all usually expensive and slowed down our success momentum. However to answer the question, I think the biggest mistake was not recognizing what the business basics were and how important these basics are to lasting success.

In my book, The Facts of Business Life: What Every Successful Business Owner Knows that You Don’t, I list these business basics, which I call the ‘facts’ of business life. And I list them in the sequential order of how they are to be used. It took me a long time to figure these out, but once I did, success was created and in most cases fairly quickly. Think of sport teams, football for example: the basics are simple, the better the team blocks and tackles, the better the team can execute even the most complicated offenses and defenses. Talent matters of course, but if your team has the best quarterback and wide receivers it matters little if the offense can’t block. It’s the same in business, do the basics well, and lasting success will result.

Who inspired your business success?

I think sports, the coaches and the players I played with, were a major factor in achieving success as a business owner. I played on very good teams where strong leadership was apparent and appreciated, individual expectations were measured and improvement as a team and individuality were expected. Learning to take responsibility for individual actions, and the reward and punishment for those actions. Sports also taught me competitiveness and what being successful means and realizing how hard one has to work to consistently improve and succeed. Sports was definitely a great teacher for me. Additionally, I also had a few great mentors, who were very successful, and helped me develop as an owner and rounded out my rough edges and helped me understand what it took to be a great owner.

What books influenced you along the way?

Steven R Covey, beginning with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was the most influential. Others like Malcolm Gladwell’s The Outliers and his other books; Blue Ocean Strategy by W Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne; Good to Great by Jim Collins and his other books; Who Moved my Cheese by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard.

people in a meeting

What is a business plan?

Whether you’re starting a small business or exploring ways to expand an existing one, a business plan is an important tool to help guide your decisions. Think of it as a roadmap to success, providing greater clarity on all aspects of your business, from marketing and finance to operations and product/service details.

While some owners may be tempted to jump directly into startup mode, writing a business plan is a crucial first step for budding entrepreneurs to check the viability of a business before investing too much time or money. The purpose of a business plan is to help articulate a strategy for starting your business. It also provides insight on steps to be taken, resources required for achieving your business goals, and a timeline of anticipated results.

In fact, businesses that plan grow 30% faster than those that don’t.1

For existing small businesses, a business plan should be updated annually as a way to guide growth and navigate the expansion into new markets.

Studies show that nearly 71% of the fastest-growing businesses have business plans, indicating that even existing businesses can benefit from updating their plans.2

Your plan should include explicit objectives for hiring new employees, market analysis, financial projections, and potential investors. The objectives should indicate how they’ll help your business prosper and grow.

Building an asset management business plan

Committing resources to capital improvements and new assets such as computers, software, or cars/trucks is never an easy decision for budget-conscious small business owners. But a business plan can bring clarity to the process of whether to buy or lease and help determine the optimal amount allocated to those assets. A good business plan can also help you decide if it’s feasible to take on the additional office, retail, or workspace.

Creating a marketing strategy

Marketing and market potential are important aspects of a plan for aspiring small businesses.

Getting your business in front of customers on a consistent basis is one of the keys to ensuring your business not only stays afloat but also thrives.

Marketing strategies can be simple, but before you decide on how you will get the word out, getting clear on your target audience and why your business solves their problem can make sticking to your marketing plan easier.

Knowing your unique market positioning can help you determine your messaging. Your marketing strategy should include who your target audience is, the platforms or methods you will connect with them on, and a measurement framework to determine if your efforts are working.

Take entrepreneur Scott Sultzer, who opened Sandwich Joint restaurant in downtown Los Angeles in 2009. “I included the potential marketing demographic of all those who lived in a certain area of the city,” he said of his marketing strategy. “My goal was to capture a certain percentage of all those people who lived and worked nearby.”4

Created primarily as a marketing tool, Sulzer’s 10-page plan included such topics as target market breakdown, marketing strategy, and market penetration. “My business plan was mostly about market projections,” he said. “How are we going to get those people that lead to an increase in our daily sales? And how are we going to reach them to let them know we’re here?”4

Depending on your business, it’s important to have both brick-and-mortar marketing strategies as well as a plan for marketing your business online.

Seeking investment for your business

In addition to providing a roadmap for progress and a marketing plan, your business plan could also be important in securing funding.

Whether you’re seeking a credit line from a bank or an influx of capital from investors, a business plan that answers questions about profitability and revenue generation can make the difference between whether someone decides to invest – or how much they might choose to invest.

In fact, a study showed that businesses with a plan were more likely to receive formal financial support, such as funding, than businesses without one.3

Hiring the right talent

A business plan may also be needed to retain other professional services as well, such as attorneys, landlords, consultants or accountants. Sulzer used his business plan to secure a lease.

“I had to have a viable document that they could trust,” said Sulzer, who leased from one of the largest landowners in downtown Los Angeles.4

“With a corporate landlord, they wouldn’t deal with me unless I had a business plan. I had to submit all my information and a plan that presented what I wanted to do, with financial breakdowns and percentages, demographics, and how I was going to get customers.”4

For a small business to succeed, attracting talented workers and partners is of vital importance. A part of a business plan for hiring employees is to help bring in the right talent, from the executive level to skilled staff, by showing them the direction and growth potential of the business. It can also help secure vendor accounts, especially with exclusive suppliers.

Setting business plan objectives for management

Finally, a business plan can be important in providing structure and management objectives to a small business. It can become a reference tool to keep management on track with sales targets and operational milestones. When used properly and consulted regularly, it can help you measure and manage what you’re working so hard to create.

Ready to take the next step? Learn how to write a business plan.

Don’t forget to consider insurance coverage in your business plan. When the unexpected happens, you want to make sure your small business is covered. Customized insurance solutions are crucial to protecting and keeping your operation going.

Positive customer relations help you connect with your customers on a much more personal level. When you connect with the target audience deeply, you are much more likely to understand their requirements, resolve their problems, and create a sense of mutual understanding.

The Importance of Customer Relationship for Business in 2021

One major fundamental factor that is, and has been the need of businesses since the earliest of times is building a trustworthy customer relationship. However, not many businesses know how these relations work and how to maintain a strong relationship with customers.

The significance of building customer relations is often underrated. The benefits are plenty, as you would find out by the end of this article.

Let us now move on and explore the whats and hows of customer relationships.

What is Customer Relation

So, the term customer relations, might at first, appear to be simply the relationship that you as a business have with your customers. Yet, it entails much more than that!

Customer relations is a collective term for the efforts you put in to enhance the customer experience. It includes the following:

Simply put, customer relations are required to maintain a positive relationship with your customers, customer retention, and such reasons.

Therefore, customer relations involves continuous improvisation in your services towards your customers. This continual improvisation is necessary to understand how the needs of your customers are going to change. When you take this holistic approach, you can become adept at securing a positive relationship.

Furthermore, it is crucial to understand that customer relations depend not on one individual but on all the employees. Hence, to form concrete customer relations, a business requires every employee to fulfil their share of responsibility towards customer support.

PwC surveyed 15,000 customers and found that 1 in 3 customers will let go of a good brand after just one bad experience, while 92% would completely abandon a company after two negative experiences.

Also, you might want to know that customer relations differ slightly from customer service.

Wondering how?

Customer services mean how you tailor your products or services to ensure customer success.

On the other hand, customer relations is concerned with customer feedback, satisfaction, etc. It also plays a vital role in improving customer support. Another significant factor that customer relations deal with is loyalty (that is, how frequently your customers allow you to serve them).

Short Term vs Long Term Approach for Customer Relationships

By now, you would have understood what one means by customer relations. Let us now delve into what different kinds of approaches a business can take towards maintaining a proactive customer relationship.

Here, we would primarily discuss two polar approaches: the first one is a short-term approach, and the other is a long-term approach.

So, what are these approaches? As per the first approach (the short term approach), a business makes transactions with its customers but, does not give much thought to bettering customer experience, engaging in their feedback, etc. This business does not dedicate much of its time and effort to supporting the customers.

On a cursory look, it might seem like this approach would work in the best interest of a business, yet it most certainly does not! It might help you as a business save a great deal of money and time because you are only concerned with providing your customers with products or services, and that is it!

Through this approach, you might at first make a lot of money, but in the long run, it gives out! Why so? Although this approach benefits your business, it does not take into account the concerns of your customers. These concerns might include whether the customers are happy with your product or service or not, what measures you should take to address their issues, and so forth.

Consequently, your customers would begin to lose interest in your product or service and opt for an alternative. You can ensure that this does not happen with you by going for a long term approach.

Going by the long term approach, you take the necessary measures to resolve any issue that might be troubling your customers. You dedicate the required amount of time and effort to ensure that your customers can contact you and provide you with their valuable feedback at any point in time.

You also engage in other activities, such as taking actions that would better your customer experience continually. This approach, although, requires a considerable amount of time and effort, is a promising one! It makes your customers realise that you are working towards their concerns, which, in turn, helps you produce loyal customers throughout the journey of your business.

Thus, you can improve customer involvement and expand your business many times over. Hence, it is always better to go for the long term approach, no matter how much effort it requires!

The Importance of Positive Customer Relationship

We are sure that you must have realised the importance of a positive customer relationship by now. Still, let us talk a bit about how a positive relationship with your customers can help your business succeed.

Positive customer relations help you connect with your customers on a much more personal level. When you connect with the target audience deeply, you are much more likely to understand their requirements, resolve their problems, and create a sense of mutual understanding with them.

Aside from these, here are some advantages that a positive customer relationship provides you with:

This is one of the major plus points of a positive customer relationship. When your customers think that they can rely on you as a business, they are very likely to opt for your business. Besides, they might also refer your business to their peers, acquaintances, etc.

Now, once you have acquired customers, the next step is to retain them. An effective customer relationship is bound to keep your customers tethered to your business, no matter how inviting any other service provider (business entity) might seem!

This is another one of the primary advantages of customer relations. Once you have established a good relationship with the customers, you can assess their needs without any hurdle. When you can do this efficiently, nothing can stop your product or service from satisfying customers.

Why Should You Use a CRM

Having understood fairly the whats of customer relations, let us now explore the hows of it.

A great way to maintain positive customer relationships is to train your employees to work hard to understand your customers and their needs. It would enable them to connect with your customers proactively.

How to do so? Now, this age is one where everything is connected in and out with technology. Therefore, you have a variety of technological options to enhance and establish a positive customer relationship.

Customer relationship management CRM software(s) are readily available in the present market. These software(s) can integrate with your email marketing and other marketing platforms, not to mention live chat software. This way, such software can make it quite convenient for you to assess your customer requirements and produce suitable solutions. Also, using CRM software can help increase sales conversion rates by up to 300%.

Also, these tools are useful for social media marketing. Hence, you can create brand awareness efficiently and effectively.

Some reasons as to why the CRM system(s) are so prevalent: