(Newswire.net — October 31, 2013) Oroklini, Larnaca —
The small Eurozone country of Cyprus has had a torrid time in recent months. It came close to financial collapse in March of this year after a bungled attempt at economic rescue forced one of the major banks to shut down and deposits were seized at the second largest lender. It now has a 10 billion euro economic adjustment programme from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
Not the best of times therefore to be a small local business owner in Cyprus you might think.
Despite this financial adversity some small businesses are still managing to keep their heads above water and are continuing to trade. One such business is Clean Car Guy a small family run mobile car cleaning business established in Oroklini near Larnaca in 2007.
When asked to comment how his business was being impacted upon by the recession, Guy Atkinson, owner of Clean Car Guy, said that despite the fact other local businesses and friends were being forced to close down, his business was continuing at a steady pace and was in fact flourishing.
He said that he attributes his success to the fact that he has very loyal and supportive customers, who despite feeling the ‘financial pinch’ themselves, have not deserted him or dispensed with his services. “You can’t put a price on loyalty” said Guy.
He also believes that a combination of very competitive pricing, use of good quality products and high standards of workmanship are a contributing factor to his repeat business. He said that his prices have not been increased for over 12 months and whilst it is tempting in troubled times to take this easy step to increase revenue, it would not be in the interest of his customers to do so. He believes that loyalty is a two way street and he will do all he can to support his customers as they in turn are supporting him.
One of his top priorities is reputation management. Guy said that “because Cyprus is such a small island you trade very much on your reputation.” This has been proven by the fact that Clean Car Guy has never had to pay for local advertising; he predominantly grows his business on recommendations and word of mouth, so in other words he trades on his reputation.
To complement and reinforce his reputation management, Clean Car Guy has invested in a company website and has also embraced the power of social media with a Twitter and Facebook presence. Guy said “in this economic climate we need to use all the tools at our disposal to maintain a strong business presence.”
Guy said that “if I can take just one lesson away from all this, it is not to skimp, cut corners or take advantage of the people who support your business the most, in other words value your customers”.