You want me to buy black; treat me better – How to improve the black buying experience

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“I would love to support black businesses, but…”

How many times have you heard this statement? More than ever, there is a push to “Buy Black.” Buying black has always been at the centre of the fight for civil rights. There are some outspoken community activists who say that integration is what has hurt black businesses.

Before our emancipation, black businesses flourished in areas known as Black Wall Streets. Most notable are places like Tulsa, Oklahoma, Richmond Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama. It was a time where the black community supported each other. Back then, other businesses would not service Africans living in the Americas, so we decided to service ourselves. We had thriving communities that were only brought to ruin because of lynchings, tax sales, predatory land speculation, and disenfranchisement.

Since then, we have seen a steady decline in black collective economics, and there are systemic reasons for this. We also have to take into consideration another side of the story, and ask ourselves some key questions:

• Why don’t we support black businesses?
• Is there a lack of trust?
• Do we unconsciously think that black is inferior?
• Do we have an unconscious bias against our own?
• Do we lack professionalism?
• I received a disturbing phone message this week from a community member who was disturbed at what she was experiencing. In her message she expressed concern about how she was being treated when she went into black businesses. She thought it was important to mention it because she knows that I am always pushing to support black-owned businesses. Her message, “I don’t mind supporting black owned businesses. They just have to start treating their customers better.”

She then proceeded to tell me about four different scenarios and negative experiences she had when supporting black-owned businesses in the last few weeks. I will not be outing these businesses in this article, because my point is not to damage their credibility. If anything, I think that this article is a strong reminder that we all have to do better. If we want to grow as an economic force, we have to trim the edges of our deficits, and learn how to service our communities.

Why is it important to support black-owned businesses? First, and foremost, doing so will allow the black dollar to circulate longer in our community. The result. We no longer have to rely on people who have historically shown us that they only need us when we are spending money at their establishments.

I want to note that in some cases, complaints about black-owned businesses have nothing to do with their race or nationality. It has to do with the fact that they are a one-person show, trying to wear many hats, working 60 plus hours a week, and taking from Peter to pay Paul. Their intentions are good, they just don’t have the know how to serve their community because they are focused on staying  afloat.

Now, in saying this, there is still no excuse for bad business practices. Let’s go through some of the major complaints held by black-owned business shoppers, and provide some solutions that will assist in strengthening our community business structures.

Insufficient or inadequate communication
There seems to be a problem with lack of communication from black-owned businesses. As a business owner, you have to know that people do not like being ignored, especially when money is involved.

As a new, and growing business, it is easy to get swamped with orders. Sometimes you may miss an order. In this case, organization is key. There are online tools to help your business track orders and shipments. It is important that you have a website, and that your website is up to date because consumers will check your website for information.

Utilize your social media as another way to communicate with your clients. As much as this can be time consuming, stay on top of your social media, and continue to share news about what you are doing as a business, and any changes that are happening.

Terrible customer service
This is the complaint that I hear the most, and the one that my disgruntled community member brought up as most frustrating to her.

CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING IS KEY!

Make sure that you have a team of staff that are on the front lines, who are able to deal with frustrated and agitated customers empathetically. The frontline team has to be aware, and knowledgeable about the customer’s wants, needs and pain points. When a customer takes the time to share suggestions or vent frustrations, stay open to this even though it might be difficult. It is the only way to revise your customer service strategy so that you do better the next time around.

One way to ensure that your company’s customer service etiquette is on point is to delegate tasks, and select a team that is as passionate about the vision of your company as you are.

To improve your product and service offering, you need to have the best possible understanding of what your customer’s needs are. For restaurants, if you are not offering something on a specific day, let your customers know that ahead of time, so that they don’t have to hear those dreaded words, “We nuh have dat!”

Do your best to keeping consistent business hours. Your customers need to know that they can depend on your service, or they will take their business elsewhere. If you are going to make changes to your business hours, let your customers know weeks to months ahead of time, and update this on your social media platforms.

Another proactive approach to improving your customer service is by providing customers with several ways to provide feedback (social media, email, on-site suggestion box). This will enable you to monitor and implement changes and address issues when they arise.

Overinflated prices
I had an opportunity to visit a black-owned hair supply store this weekend. I did notice that her prices were much higher then ones that I found in let’s say Asian owned black hair supply stores. She explained that because they are larger, they are able to buy in bulk. I got it. As a small business, her overhead cost was probably expensive, and she has to make a profit somehow.

I paid her what she asked for, and she threw in some freebies. That helped out a lot. It showed me that my money was worth something, and it felt good to get something additional.

Low visibility in the market place
If people don’t know you exist, they will not buy anything from you. If you don’t market your beauty supply store, then customers who would support you, will continue to shop at the store that they do know about. Trust me; making your business visible is a challenge, but it’s worth the effort. I would rethink your budget, and find ways to put a little bit more into advertising. Think about hiring a marketing firm or a social media manager to help you reach potential customers. Another great source; community newspapers. They usually have special rates to help out new, and developing businesses.

Just as you are an individual, each black-owned business is unique. They are not all the same, and they are not all bad. They do not all have terrible customer service, nor are they all cutting corners when it comes to operating as a respectable business. Try not to view all businesses in the same light. We all have a lot to learn, and mistakes will be made. All we can do is work together to get it right.