Small business secrets...

Entrepreneurs are more firmly in the spotlight than they have ever been thanks to TV shows such as Dragons’ Den, which is currently back on our screens. Entertaining as it may be, I worry that the show could actually be damaging to young entrepreneurs of the future, and the digital industry in particular.

Most of us have been on the receiving end of appalling customer service. There are few things more annoying than having to navigate long-winded phone options and phone queues, then to be transferred from pillar to post in an overseas call centre hoping you will finally get to speak to a competent staff member.

When I started Euroffice and later XLN Telecom, we were startups with no employees facing global competitors such as Viking and BT, respectively. Both were well entrenched market leaders with little concern about startups disrupting their traditional markets.

For any business, the most valuable asset is its customer base. It takes years to build up a loyal following and to organise all the relevant details effectively. Yet too many small businesses overlook the importance of a well-managed system for customer information.

Good customer service should be the foundation of a successful and well-respected business - but so many big companies today get away with paying lip service to their customers and never living up to their promises. The Economist recently reported that some firms are spending a lot of money appointing chief customer officers (CCOs) to help improve the customer experience, but is this the wrong way to approach the issue?