Positive feedback? Leave what they love alone.

When you are trying to sell your business, a good deal of your focus should be on boosting your bottom line to make the most money possible in your sale. There are a myriad of ways you can boost your numbers in that critical time between listing and selling, like cutting costs and ramping up marketing – but many small business owners overlook a simple way to utilize something every business has, customer feedback.

Customer feedback, including the positive feedback, is a way for your customer base to let you know how they feel about the goods and services you offer. The amount of positive feedback you receive is also a good barometer of how happy your customer base is with you. This is important because if your customer base isn’t happy, then they aren’t spending their money with you.

If selling your business is your ultimate goal, then paying attention to your positive feedback will be critical to the growth of your business and critical to it’s appeal to prospective buyers.

Why?

When business owners get ready to sell, they sometimes think about making changes that will appeal to prospective buyers. Changes that appeal to buyers can be a good thing, but a seller has to be careful that any changes they make don’t upset their customer base. Here’s an example of what we mean:

You have a small cafe that is popular with the local clientele. The decor is a bit old, but if you read the reviews of your business you find that the vast majority of your customer base regards the decor as part of your cafe’s charm. In a move to impress buyers who would be coming to your area buy a more modern cafe or restaurant, you undergo a major renovation to update your space. Buyers might like the new look, but your local customers will hate it and stop frequenting the business. This sharp hit to your bottom line, in addition to the added expense of the renovation will ultimately mean you get less for your business in the end.

The message here is you need to pay attention to the things your patrons like about your business, and then leave those things alone. Don’t make major changes to impress a buyer because the right buyer will understand why you’ve left the popular parts of your business untouched.

Making changes to keep your customers happy and coming back will add value to your business. Making changes will also show prospective buyers that you care about the growth and future of your business – just be careful that the changes you make appeal to your customers first.

Are you thinking about selling and are wondering what buyers will be looking for? Do you have questions about what types of changes would be appropriate? Ask us! Leave questions or comments here and we will be happy to help.

Ready to read What The People Want: Why Business Sellers Need To Pay Attention To Negative Feedback? Click here.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com