By Jeanne Bliss, CustomerBLISS

It’s an everyday charge uphill for small businesses to be there for customers in ways that are important to them. Beloved companies (one’s built on an energy and spirit that draws customers to them) gladly decide to do the hard work. They’re in the scrimmage every day to earn the right for their customers to return.

Being there for customers fuels the prosperity engine of beloved companies. Small business The Container Store encourages employees to bend over backwards for customers, and with fellow employees.  By encouraging flexibility and “gut” in its employees, The Container Store excels not only in customer service, but in employee retention.  A full-time salesperson at The Container Store receives about 263 hours of training, compared to an average of 8 hours for most retail businesses. By preparing people through training and throwing away the rule book, the company created an environment where people are encouraged to do whatever it takes to assist coworkers and customers and find the right solution for each situation.

Beloved companies think and rethink how to conduct themselves, so they earn the right to their customers’ continued business because they understand that we naturally gravitate to companies and people with whom we connect in a human and sincere manner.  Beloved companies leave customers thinking, “Who else would have done this?” “Where else could I get this?” “I want to do this again.” By creating reliability in the way they do business, and fusing that with moments of contact delivered from the customer’s point of view, beloved companies earn the right to grow.

Visit http://www.smbnow.com/articles/has-your-smb-earned-the-right-to-grow" rel="nofollow - SMBNow.com to see the full story on SMB Growth .