Therese Bourassa-Bernier family business has survived the Home Depot’s and the Lowe’s... They watched other Big box stores try to nestle in the community and fail. They watched another corporate national chain Builder’s Square come and go. She and her family, whose Bourassa Hardware store has served New Bedford, Mass. since 1924, watched the do-it-yourself chains arrive in town. None of these retailing behemoths have thinned Bourassa’s stream of customers, who remain faithful to a smaller shop where they know — and are known by — the owner. In the age of the Big Box, Bourassa Hardware thrives on counter-intuition. It doesn't open on Sundays. It eschews advertising for word of mouth. Customers have made it clear, their desire for more of a personal touch. They’re tired of doing business where they feel as if they are being treated like a just a mere number. So if you’re a small business, family business and a local community business, an on hold message system can help you drive home your marketing niche that the big guys can’t match.
The value of personal interactions increases the value of trust as such like Bourassa Hardware. “The hardware store still serves a purpose if you want to find a little doohickey,” ultimately, the big-small divide rests on a basic trust equation. The role of small business has been forced to evolve. We return to our barber because he remembers how to style our hair without being told. We go back to our local hardware store because they’ll make sure we walk out with the right caulk. That's basically the message at Bourassa Hardware. Employees know good service takes extra work, but also know their jobs depend on building a personal bond corporate America can’t easily replicate. It's why Therese Bourassa-Bernier courts New Bedford’s growing Spanish population, and why her brother is learning Portuguese. Shoppers may come in and ask for Benjamin Moore paint, but they’re really there because she’s been known to take three hours -– on her day off, no less -- to help a loyal customer pick the right color. These niche retailers survive because they provide a level of convenience hard to replicate by the big guys, and as such, this becomes a big part of the marketing strategy. With a customized music on hold marketing solution, local businesses can promote the value they offer not only in price, but in personalized, individual service that the national chain stores lack.
The withering of small retail businesses amid the ascendancy of national chains has been well documented for the past few decades. Big-box stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Costco exist to provide us with endless supplies, not small talk Right? …Wrong! Consumers are making a switch in not only their spending habits, but where and why they spend as well. Yes, of course they’re seeking value, but consumers are trending toward companies who are local, family- owned, green conscious and a part of the local economy. By local economy, we’re talking not dollars just being spent, but more of those dollars also being kept within the community. In fact studies show that when you spend $100 at an independent business, $68 returns to the local community. Spend that same amount at a national chain and it drops to $43. If you’re a family owned business, or a local community business, it’s time to tout that information to callers on hold with an on hold system to Leverage your experience and drench your customers in kindness.