Navigating This Age of ‘Excuseflation’: 3 Strategies for Small Businesses to Excel in Communication and Services
Over the past year, the term ‘excuseflation’ has been growing in business conversations. I’ll admit, I just learned about this terminology, but the definition or explanation of it I have become all too familiar with since the start of the pandemic. To put it lightly, ‘excuseflation’ refers to the increasing tendency of businesses to attribute shortcomings in their services or products to external factors. Most commonly global events (wars), inflation/stagflation, or supply chain disruptions. While these factors undoubtedly influence business operations, the excessive reliance on these reasons has begun to wear thin on consumers, causing them to question the authenticity of these claims.
As the marketplace continues to evolve, it is crucial for small businesses to differentiate themselves from competitors who try and exploit ‘excuseflation’ to their advantage. Below are three competitive strategies that can help small business owners in providing better communication and superior services, and most importantly setting themselves apart in their respective market.
Emphasize Transparency
One of the major issues with ‘excuseflation’ is its potential to erode consumer trust. To combat this, small businesses should prioritize transparency in all interactions with their customers. Whether it’s discussing product pricing, delivery timelines, or service limitations, being open and honest about these matters can build a stronger bond with consumers. Using tools like weekly social media updates on freshly available products and materials. Communicating through your email newsletters, or even direct conversations can help businesses stay transparent and foster a culture of trust. Don’t hesitate to flex a little bit on your hill of honor, you’ll win new clients and customers that’ll be with you for years.
Leverage Customer Service as a Differentiator
This is probably my favorite because in many big retail or big commerce establishments, the mission is volume and customer service is near the bottom of their values. So in the face of ‘excuseflation’, a small business can stand out by providing exceptional customer service. This involves not just addressing customer issues, but proactively working to prevent them. Regular check-ins with clients, asking for feedback (yes even making a warm phone call will go a long way). Even if you only dedicate 20 minutes a day to make sure your customers know that their satisfaction is your top priority, at the end of a week we’ve seen a small percentage turn into additional sales. Remember, small businesses often have the advantage of a more personal touch, which can go a long way in making customers feel valued.
Continuous Improvement and Innovation
While some businesses are blaming the environment for their performance, use this as an opportunity to introspect and innovate. Focus on improving your products, services, or internal processes and procedures. This could mean investing in technology to streamline operations or brainstorming ways to improve your product or service based on customer feedback and tone of the marketplace. Innovation not only helps in providing superior offerings compared to competitors who use ‘excuseflation’, but also showcases your commitment to growth, regardless of external factors.
Closing Theory: While ‘excuseflation’ might seem like an easy route in the short term to raise or keep prices high, businesses that choose to blame external factors for their shortcomings risk damaging their reputation and brand in the long term. As a leader, you have the opportunity to take a different path. Lead by emphasizing transparency, prioritizing customer service, and committing to continuous improvement and innovation, you can effectively differentiate your business and build a strong, trusting relationship with your customers.
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When you think about providing insight to something that is not widely known, you can instantly become captivating. Whether it’s a statistic of the amount of wild boars that are active in an local community where people have been trying to figure out why their rose gardens and flower beds and trashed night to night, or the tangible benefits to the morning rush-hour by more companies adopting work-from-home policies; it’s a piece of information that some of your audience would be happy to know and probably take and brag about to their friends and colleagues. Another example, did you know that certain crystals offer therapeutic properties by holding some or by just having them on your desk or night stand? Welp, neither did I, but a friend of mine Cheryl (check out her 
How many times have you seen posts that say, “on this day, I learned….” or “how come no one ever told me…” We love learning something new. Especially when it’s in a space that we may not have expected. For example, when we think of a traditional college course, in your mind you’re already thinking about a boring lecture and pages and pages of notes and studying. Yes you’ll learn plenty, but no where near as fun as scrolling through your social feed and stopping on a peculiar short video of someone removing a stain from their car seat using household items that you probably also own. With slight disbelief you continue watching eagerly hoping that they actually clear that stain, and when they do you quickly share the post and head to your kitchen cabinet and dash to your car to try what you’ve just learned. Because I wasn’t necessarily expecting to learn something new, when I do, and it’s something that I actually needed it’s a double bonus. So how can your product or service create a similar moment for an audience that may be unsuspecting that you’re post was about to change their life?
