One of the most difficult obstacles to overcome is a business owner, is standing out from your competition. No matter what you do or sell, you’ll have other companies out there doing something similar. Which is great for the customer as they have lots of choice, but it can make things difficult for you. Here are three ways you can stand out, and drive more custom to your own business.
Sell excellent products or services
It doesn’t matter what your business does, whatever it it sells should be up to standard. Your products or services should be of a good quality, so that people aren’t left underwhelmed or having to seek refunds where they’re unhappy. There’s a lot that goes into making a business great, but at the heart of everything is the thing you’re selling. If that’s rubbish, it doesn’t matter how good anything else is. Good products or services will leave clients and customers satisfied and returning for more. They’re more likely to recommend you to their friends and family, and this kind of word of mouth advertising is trusted and simply can’t be bought.
Provide excellent customer service
As well as selling great products or services (and at the right price) you need to ensure that everything is conducted in the right way by your staff. Excellent customer service is key if you want to create a positive brand image. Even if something has gone wrong with their transaction, having it sorted quickly and efficiently by a friendly employee will still have them leaving feeling happy and satisfied. Find the right people for your team, those that are good at working with others, and are highly motivated so naturally have a ‘nothing is too much trouble’ attitude. You can also boost customer service with a POS system, as well as use software like customer relationship management software and help desk to keep your customer service up to standard. These help to give people the impression of a personal experience of your business even before speaking to a human employee.
Work with a charity or do good in some way
One way to promote a positive brand image, while genuinely doing good in the world, is to work with a charity or actually do good in some way. Perhaps you could make a promise to only ever use Fairtrade sellers overseas, or sustainable ingredients. Maybe you could make a pledge to reduce the gender pay gap in your company, or plant more trees for every one that you use. If you work with a charity, choose one that’s linked to your business in some way- for example, if you sell animal products you could work with an animal charity. From there, you could pledge a certain percentage of your annual profits to them. This is a great opportunity for them and you- not only will people associate your business with doing good (which makes you look favourable to customers) but chances are they’ll help with your promotion too. They will already have their own social following for example, and sharing your mission with their followers could mean more custom for you.