How To Make Your Business Stand Out
It is easy to open a business, but it definitely takes work to make your business stand out and actually succeed, especially nowadays with social media. I’m sure that if you are a business owner, you know the crazy statistics around business failure rates. If you haven’t, let me educate you: only 50 percent of businesses make it past the first five years and only ⅓ make it past ten years. I would love to see the one year statistic too, because I am sure they are just as bad, if not worse.
I could write a ten page article for you about different reasons why businesses fail, but today I just want to focus on one aspect of it: lack of differentiation. You need to stand out from your competitors because if you don’t, you will blend in (obviously) and nobody will know why they should work with you vs. your competitors. If there is one thing that you take away from this article, then take this: To have a successful business, you need to stand out. If you don’t know where to start, then you are in luck because I have five small tips that will help you get started! Here they are:
Social Presence
In order to make yourself stand out, having a social presence is key. You need a functional and updated website, social media accounts (especially Instagram and Facebook), a blog, and you need to make sure that you are investing in smart marketing tactics such as search engine optimization and influencer marketing. If this is not something that you feel comfortable doing yourself, hire it out. There are many influencers such as my friend, Alex from The Berger Bungalow, who help businesses with their social media accounts and blogs. Every single one of these items listed above are easy to hire out to professionals that know what they are doing, so don’t think that it has to be too time consuming or technical.
Great Customer Service
Forbes says, “Treat your customers like royalty, even if you are not in the service industry. The belief that customer service only matters in the service industry is a myth. All customers have an expectation of great service and will not put up with waiting in long lines or receiving poor responses from representatives. Around 75% of customers state that they consider customer service a true test of a company’s competence. Well-known companies with great customer service include Amazon and Hyundai. But even small companies seem to be doing much better in this area, as they have discovered the loyalty-generating power of remarkable customer support.” To touch a bit more on this article, I 100% believe that smaller companies have even better customer service when compared to larger companies – they just need to show potential future customers this through great marketing and their social presence.
Custom Lettering
According to Georgia-based company, East Point Foundry, “Lettering is key to communicating professionalism and style.” If you saw a company with chipped letters, or half lighted signs, would you be inclined to visit their company and give them business? I don’t think so. Image and first appearances are everything, so you need to make sure that you stand out from the very first second future customers drive up to your office space. Established in 1948 and located out of East Point, Georgia, East Point Foundry says that they enjoy the process of transforming basic signage and lettering and changing it into works of art that command respect. East Point Foundry has helped thousands of businesses achieve the perfect, custom Bronze, Cast Metal, and Plastic lettering, based on preferences, theme, and applications. If you want your business to stand out, making sure that you put off a great first impression is extremely important and East Point Foundry can definitely help you achieve that goal.
Offer A Guarantee
Offering a guarantee is a sure way to make your business stand out from others that offer the same services. For example, if you are looking to purchase a service that 50 others provide, wouldn’t you choose the one that offers a money back guarantee vs. another one that does not offer that perk? Forbes says, “can you guarantee next-day delivery? Are you confident enough in your product or service to stand behind it 100%? If so, guarantee it. Adding this type of assurance to your marketing message shows customers and prospects that you truly care about their satisfaction. Here’s the only thing you need to remember: you must back up your guarantee if and when the time comes.”
Useful Services/Products
Last but not least, you need to make sure that your services and products are actually useful. This seems very self explanatory, but so many businesses fail because they just do not have useful services. Before releasing a new service or product, I would definitely get insight from your ideal customer. Then, you will have a better idea if it is worth spending your time, energy, and money on the new product or service.
I hope these tips help learn more about how to make your business stand out! It really is crucial nowadays. Do any of you have any other tips? Let me know in the comments!
