If you want to succeed in business, no matter what niche you are in, it’s vital that you stand out above the rest of the crowd. There aren’t many industries these days which aren’t totally overcrowded, and that makes being able to be a little bit different, even more important than ever before.
The bottom line is this - if you don’t do a stellar job, if you can’t offer something different, then someone else will, and they will take the spoils, the glory, and of course, the profit. Failing to be different can basically cost you money, and therefore cost you your business.
Of course, firstly you need to know who your competitors are. A good business knows who it is up against, and what it is up against, and that should always form part of your business plan and you market research. Next up, you need to know exactly how you can stand out, and how you can differentiate yourself from your competitors, and boost your overall business success.
Now, this part really depends upon many different factors, and it also depends on what it is you’re providing as a business. Do you sell a service, or do you sell a product? What type of product or service is it? The number one way you can differentiate yourself and stand out is to ensure that everything you do is quality, and that you do it in a professional, yet friendly way.
Despite that, let’s explore in a bit more detail how you can stand out, head and shoulders above the rest of the field in your industry.
First Impressions Are Vital
Whenever a client, supplier, or customer enters your building, they need to get the sense that you know what you’re doing, you’re expert at doing it, you care, and that your premises totally reflect the brand, product, or service you’re selling. A bright and colourful decor is ideal for a product or service which is fun and upbeat, such as children’s toys, fashion, cosmetics, or anything which has that ‘fun’ element. In contrast, a more sleek and professional appearance would be needed for a business which was selling anything a little more somber or professional, e.g. financial fields, anything corporate.
Your reception area is the key area here, so always ensure that you have extras here, such as reception sofas, high quality office reception desks, and that your desks are manned the entire time your office or premises are open. This area should be clean, tidy, welcoming, and everyone walking into the doors should be greeted with a smile.
As visitors enter your main working space, e.g. your office, it is the small details they will notice, such as the way your office runs - is it a fun environment? Are people smiling? Do people look stressed? The decor is key here too, so make it light, modern, and airy; dark and dismal doesn’t look great. Think about a breakout space to give a modern twist.
You might wonder how you having funky office furniture will make you stand out above your competitors, but look at it this way - if they visit your office and it’s fresh and light, professional and friendly, and they visit another business and their office is dark and not that welcoming, you’re going to come out on top, right?
Make Your Product/Service The Best it Can be
Whatever it is you’re selling or providing needs to be top quality, you need to do your market research in depth to ensure that you’re meeting your customers’ needs, and also exceeding them. A top quality business knows what its customers want, and they know how to make them happy. Make your product long lasting, attractive, durable, give it added extras, and make sure the packaging is fun. These are all ways to beat your competitors, who might not have thought of the small details which could really make the difference in terms of who a customer chooses to purchase from. Perhaps you could look at having a local celebrity endorse your product, and that really will give you a step up over the rest!
Never stop developing your product or service, and constantly check out what your competitors are doing, to ensure that you are one-step ahead. This means giving regular offers and freebies, to entice customers in your direction, and away from the temptation of another company.
Customer Service is Everything
The number one turn off for a customer is poor customer service. Think about it from a personal point of view - if you had the choice of two companies, and one was quite rude to you on the telephone, or simply didn’t seem to want to help you at all, and the other was quite friendly and did their best to help you out, you’d go with the latter, wouldn’t you? The overwhelming amount of people you speak to will tell you the same thing.
For that reason, do regular training sessions with your staff to ensure that they are up to date on the latest customer service techniques. Make it a part of their overall training to know what to say and do, and what to avoid. Push forward that a smile is one of the most valuable things they can offer, and give role-play advice on how to deal with difficult situations and irate customers. The ways these situations are dealt with can be the breaking point between keeping a customer, and losing them.
If customers are coming into your premises to discuss issues or to purchase goods and services, customer service also means ensuring that they are comfortable during their time there. So look into shiny, white office furniture to give that upbeat, positive feel. Look at office seating for comfort, and bench desks which allow less of a barrier between the customer service agent/office staff and the customer. These are all clever ways of building up that working relationship between a customer and the business.
Be an Expert in Your Field
In order to persuade a customer to do business with you, and not someone else, you need to know what you are selling inside out. This means being a complete expert in your field, your service, and your product. You need to be able to sell it to your customers and persuade them that you are the best route to go down. Again, this is about training your staff to be knowledgeable in the product or service, and to give them tools to answer difficult questions, in a persuasive and sales-pitch way.
Have some regular training sessions with your staff, perhaps via a brainstorming session, or something less formal, using comfortable office furniture, office desks, and sofa-like seating, to maintain concentration and encourage collaboration. The more you know, the more you’ll sell!
Place Emphasis on Your Website
Our final point is one which you should certainly not overlook. These days, everything is done via the World Wide Web, and that means having an up to date, regularly maintained, attractive, and easy to use website, which reflects the brand you’re trying to sell, and offers visitors all the information they need to make a purchase or order.
A top quality website should be full of useful and interesting content. It should be easy to use and navigate, there should be no broken links, it should have all the contact information there for customers get further details should they need it, and it should also allow them to make that purchase or order quickly, without making the process full of hassle. If you have no idea where to start with designing and using a website, there are many people who can help you, and in this case, it might be a good idea to hire a freelancer to design and setup your site, making use of their expert knowledge. From there, you need to know about Search Engine Optimisation also referred to as SEO. This ensures that your site will be high up on the search engine results list when someone makes a search; you will probably know from personal experience that the first page of search results is all anyone ever really looks at. Again, this is something a freelancer can help you with, and really will give you major ammunition to stand out above the rest of your competitors.
At the end of the day, being head and shoulders above the rest of your competitors isn’t rocket science, it’s simply about giving your customers what they want. Never underestimate the power of a smile and a friendly word; we might be technically minded these days, but manners and professionalism still go much further than anything else. Being able to differentiate yourself from other players in your field will ensure that customers not only stay with you, but perhaps they will give word of mouth recommendations to their friends and family, giving you a bigger customer base in the future.