It’s a little scary in a way, we’re basically living in the age of instant gratification. Sure, in one aspect, it’s good, but for the most part, it’s not a good thing at all. People want everything now, not soon, not later, not even the whole “we’ll get back to you shortly.” Right now. For example, groceries show up in an hour, streaming skips the adverts, and even next-day delivery is starting to feel a bit slow. So when someone messages a business and doesn’t get a reply within minutes, they’re already scrolling to the next option. Patience?
Well, at this rate, it’s practically extinct. Yes, there’s plenty of small business tips out there, but the biggest one has to be he fact that it’s the customers that set the pace, not you. But yeah, that’s the culture small businesses are up against. It’s not that people have become rude; it’s that they’re used to instant everything (you might be guilty of this, too).
So if a customer emails or chats with a question, they expect lightning-fast replies, no matter how small your business is. And honestly, that’s tough when you’re already spinning ten plates just trying to keep things running. So, no matter what you and your staff are juggling, the customer doesn’t care, because they’ll just think that you don’t care. See the problem there?
Fast has Become the Standard
The modern customer doesn’t want to wait for an answer; they expect it the second they ask. Again, there’s a chance you might be guilty of this, too. But that’s what instant gratification culture does: it trains everyone to believe things should happen now. You can blame it on Netflix and their online streaming, you can blame it on Amazon and their Prime shipping, or even DoorDash, but people like the speed of a swipe, and it’s not like that’s going to go anywhere anytime soon.
But there is something a little unfortunate and unfair here; customers expect the same speed from small businesses as they do from big corporations. It’s not personal; it’s just habit. The idea of waiting 24 hours for a reply feels ancient. The moment they don’t get a quick answer, their brain says, “Okay, who else can help me?” That’s how you lose leads you never even knew you had. Yes, by all means, none of this is fair at all.
It’s About Keeping Up Without Losing the Plot
So how are small businesses supposed to keep up with all this without going completely mad? The answer is simple: work smarter, not harder. Okay, that actually sounds way overly simplified and generic, doesn’t it? Now, bluntly put, it’s not like a small team can actually compete with a major corporation. But it can help to just try and leverage tech where you can, like an AI agent for business websites, which can quietly handle all those “just checking” questions that eat up time. This is just one example, and it’s thankfully affordable too.
Some general automation can help as well, but there still needs to be the human touch, such as for phone calls and important emails, of course. But yeah, there is a sweet spot; it’s just leveraging technology, but not too much.
Attention is the New Currency
In today’s world, attention is everything. People don’t give it freely anymore; you have to earn it fast. Do you resonate with that at all? If your business feels slow, clunky, or unresponsive, they move on before you even realise they were there. But if you make it easy for them to get what they need right away, they remember that. They come back. They tell their friends. Which is exactly what you want. It might not be ideal to adapt to instant gratification, but in all honesty, it definitely pays off at least when you do it.
