SiaradBusnes.com » English

A Business Proposal:

Dear Business Person in Wales,

Llongyfarchiadau! Congratulations! Whether you’ve been in business for a few days, or for many years - we think you’re playing a vital rôle in your community, and we would like to congratulate you warmly on running a business and contributing to the local economy…:-)

But you’ve been directed to this website because one of your customers ISN’T happy.

As you know, unhappy customers are bad for business. They have a tendency to tell other people that they are unhappy with you, and this can do very real damage to your turnover. Word of mouth is one of the best ways for any business to gain market share - but negative word of mouth is one of the worst things that can happen to you.

Worryingly, it is reported that 96% of unhappy customers DO NOT LET YOUR BUSINESS KNOW that they are unhappy. To put that another way - for every person who directs you to this site, you can expect that 24 other customers are also unhappy with you.

Fortunately, we are in a position to be able to let you know exactly WHY one of your customers has directed you here - knowledge that can help you turn this to your advantage.

It is because of one of two things:

Your signs are not available in Welsh

Some business owners do not realise that bilingual signage increases turnover by attracting (and pleasing) more customers. To people who don’t understand how Welsh speakers feel about their language, it may be an easy mistake to make - but the simple fact is that if your signs are in English only in Wales, you are leaving money on the table.

Now, if bilingual signage was expensive, you’d have a tricky business decision to make - but what many business people don’t realise is that not only is bilingual signage very reasonably priced, but that there are generous grants available for businesses that go bilingual!

You can find out more about the financial support available for bilingual businesses by getting in touch with your local Menter Iaith - you can find out where the nearest Menter is on their website. Click HERE to open their website in a new window.

If you get in touch with your local Menter, and move to a bilingual approach, there is every chance that your previously unhappy customers will become some of your strongest supporters. Market research shows that not only do unhappy customers stop spreading bad news about you if you address their concerns, but they actually tend to become your most loyal customers!

Some studies have suggested that as many as 95% of unhappy customers can be converted into loyal, repeat customers - see HERE (opens in a new window) for further advice on this subject from a Small Business Management Specialist in America.

If your signs are already available in Welsh, the other reason you have been directed to this site is:

You don’t offer customer service in Welsh

One of the quickest ways to upset your Welsh-speaking customers is when the staff in your shop are not able to offer a choice of language to the customer. When a Welsh-speaker is given no choice but to speak English, they can feel an unusually high level of frustration and even anger with your business - exactly the kind of customer experience you DON’T want them to have.

Fortunately, this is even cheaper to correct than signage! In fact, it’s amazing that many businesses still haven’t realised how much extra goodwill they can generate for ZERO cost.

How?

Bilingual speakers cost NO more to employ than staff who can only speak English! If you wanted staff with high level computer skills, or web design skills, or customer service qualifications, it would cost you good money - but you can employ bilingual staff, who have an enormous impact on your levels of customer happiness, for EXACTLY the same salary you pay staff with no extra language skills at all.

It costs nothing to insert a line stating ‘Welsh speakers preferred’ in your job adverts - or you can consider advertising on sites dedicated to recruiting staff with language skills, like Jobs-Cymraeg.com (opens in a new window and in English!).

In the short term, you can also gain very quick benefits through giving language awareness training to your existing staff. Many staff can be unsure how to react when someone speaks Welsh to them - and it’s worryingly easy for them to make mistakes that can cause REAL offence, and do REAL damage to your business. You can get top quality advice on how best to improve your staff’s language awareness at Cwmni Iaith (opens in a new window, and in English!).

What’s more, if you put notices up explaining that you are preparing language awareness training for your staff, and looking to employ more Welsh speakers, you will have an IMMEDIATE effect on the attitude that Welsh speakers take towards your company.

In fact, anyone who sends you a card to draw your attention to this website and then comes back in a couple of days to find notices as described above will probably become one of your most wildly enthusiastic supporters! They’ll certainly let a LOT of other people know about your positive response, and because some businesses have been slow to realise the benefits of bilingualism, there’s a real chance for you to build a competitive advantage.

Good Luck with your Business!

Best wishes,

Cymuned

If you take any of the actions we suggest above to improve your customer relations, we would be very happy indeed to give you positive publicity for doing so. Please contact us on cymuned[at]cymuned.org or 01758-612712 to let us know what you’ve done, so that we can prepare a press release praising your positive work, as well as including you on this website as one of our examples of businesses that deserve the support of Welsh speakers.