A successful business is made up of many different parts, and if one of those parts isn't working, then the whole business will be affected. From your employees to your suppliers, it's important to get each component of your business right and to work together. One huge part of your business is your service providers, individual or entities that provide services to your business that could be consulting, legal, real estate, communications, storage or processing to name a few.
In the past, small businesses only had to hire a few service providers such as an accounting firm, a legal firm, an advertising agency and decide which bank to deal with; nowadays, it is necessary to hire a lot more. For your marketing alone you'll need paid advertising, social media marketing, content marketing, lead generation, affiliate marketing, marketing intelligence and market research etc. and while you could go the one-stop-shop route, you could then be sacrificing the quality of service. So, while there are alot of service providers to look for, doing this and choosing the right ones will determine the success of your business.
Finding service providers to work with is one of the most important things about running a business. Not only do you need them to know what they're doing and offer a good quality service to complement your business, but they must also be reliable, cost-effective and secure and then they must also perform to the highest possible standard every day. So it's not an easy task, but looking for the right service providers is something worth spending time on because if you end up working with the wrong ones, you will not only lose the money you spend with them, but you will also waste time and effort too. So how do you go about finding the best service providers for your business?
Seek Out Former Employers
This might seem a bit excessive, but if you want to get it right, then talk with a former employee of the company you want to hire, you will find the best insight and information. Have a look at Linkedin or do a simple online search for people who used to work at that company in a higher-level position. It's not difficult to do now that you can just use LinkedIn and online searches. You'll be surprised how many replies you'll get when you do this because people love sharing their expertise and experience and are often flattered that you want to consult them for their expert opinions. They can be really useful and often because they might have left the industry or at least the business, they offer objective advice and can give really interesting insights about who to work with, how to structure deals and other things to consider. This is also really handy if you're looking for something more niche such as the best PostgreSQL services as if you don't know much about it yourself, it's good to talk to an expert but not a salesperson.
Ask the people who have given testimonials.
If the provider you are interested in posts testimonials on its site, then get in touch with the people who have written those testimonials. Even if there is no name, it is often easy to find out who has left them. While testimonials are often written to sound as good as possible, if you give someone a call and have a conversation over the phone, they will usually give a bit more information and will be more honest and tell you the pros and cons of working with that particular company.
Look at employee reviews.
You can tell a lot about a company by how it treats its employees, so take a look at a company's employee reviews on sites such as Indeed or Glassdoor. Seeing what people have to say about management can be really interesting and give you valuable insight into the company. While you will have to take former employees' reviews with a grain of salt, they're still valuable and having a look at the reviews over time to see how they have progressed will give you a good idea about the company as a whole.
Choose A Service Provider That Knows Your Business
You need a service provider who knows what they are doing, so look for a proven track record in your industry, a company who is knowledgeable about businesses similar to yours and knows our products, services and technology. Don't expect them to know the finer details of your company, but as long as they understand your area of operations, then they will work out the rest as you begin working with them.
Remember that you're looking for a partnership.
It's important to have realistic expectations of your service provider, and you need to remember that this relationship is a partnership, and that's how it will work best and complement your business. Companies that look at their outsourcing partners and service providers as an integral part of their corporate team increase their chances of succeeding dramatically.
To get the most from it, set realistic expectations. Then provide maximum support to help your service provider meet them.
Choose Capability Over Cost
While pricing and ROI are extremely important, it's vital that you don't choose a provider because it's the cheapest. Choose a proven provider with the experience and capabilities to get the job done first. Ask them questions about their customer support and the plans they offer. Ask them about upgrades and customised plans and find out about the experience they have with organisations similar to yours and organisations of your size.
As mentioned, finding the right service provider is challenging, but there's a reason for this because it is so important for the success of your business to get it right. Remember to shop around and ask plenty of questions and carefully review a company's track record. Above all, look for a service provider that not only fits your budget, but also is knowledgeable, proven, and experienced in your industry.
