As a business owner, you’re probably wondering which is the best place to buy business checks online. After all, a simple Google search will return dozens of online printing services, all of them claiming that they will be able to produce top-quality checks for you at an affordable price and reasonable turnaround time.
All of these sound great, however, there might be one more factor that you’re overlooking: where is the business based?
Does Business Location Really Matter?
With the advent of online businesses, you might think that the physical location of a business doesn’t really play a huge role in your decision when choosing a company. The Internet has made communication and distribution so much easier, right?
Actually, the location of the business still matters quite a lot, and it’s not just in terms of distance from you. Obviously, it’s cheaper and more cost-effective to choose a business that’s physically closer to yours because you will be saving on transport and delivery costs, but there are actually other reasons why you should consider choosing a local business. Yes, even if it’s online.
5 Reasons Why Local Online Businesses Are Still A Great Option
1. Stronger and More Personal Relationship with the Staff
When you get in touch with a business that’s based in your local area, you will get a better sense of the people running the company. They might be people who grew up in your neighborhood or at least people who have lived and worked in the area for a long time. This shared sense of location leads to a stronger sense of community, making it easier to build a deeper bond with the people behind the company.
As a business owner, there are so many benefits to being able to build a personal relationship with your suppliers, especially if you are working with them on a regular basis. For check printing needs, for example, you probably need to order it every few months especially if you are using it for paying bills or employee payroll. When you are friendly with your check printing service, you can enjoy benefits such as discounts, priority shipping, and being informed when there are new products on offer.
2. Better Customer Service
Have you ever called up the helpline of an international company and experienced the nightmare of being placed on hold while waiting for hours on end? What’s worse, even when you do get connected with a representative, they’re probably so far down the chain of command that they can’t really do anything to help your problem.
With a local business, you will enjoy shorter waiting times especially since you are located in the same time zone. You might even be able to talk directly with the business owners who will be in a better position to address your concerns.
3. Support your Local Economy
Based on a study conducted in Chicago, it was found that when you stick with local businesses, a larger portion of your money goes back to supporting and helping the local market grow. Since you are part of this local market as a business owner yourself, you will reap the rewards.
4. Local Businesses are Interrelated
When you are purchasing business checks, one of the things that you want to ensure is that they are going to be accepted by your own bank. If you are using a local printing business, there is a high probability that they are either using the same bank as you or they have at least worked with other businesses who use the same bank. Either way, you will enjoy the benefit of receiving printed checks that will be accepted and cleared smoothly by your bank.
5. Eases Troubleshooting
Another thing that many people overlook when choosing a business online is the process of troubleshooting. If something goes wrong with your printed checks, it will take a longer time for businesses that are based in different geographic locations to receive the checks back from you, reprint new ones, and send the new ones back out.
However, if you hire a local business, the process of troubleshooting will be much easier. In fact, if the business is reasonably close to you, you can even go to the physical store itself and sort out your problem immediately. You won’t need to wait for your printed checks to go through the whole delivery process; you simply to go the store, point out the problem, and wait for the re-printed checks to finish.