Find your niche in the market. What are the special requirements or problems that your customers have and how can you help them to solve that. In order to do this effectively, you need to find out about brand competitive analysis and why you need it. This will establish what makes you unique.
2. Personify your brand
Think of your brand as a person who has their own distinct personality, opinions, beliefs and look. This helps you to build a picture.
3. Emotive brand positioning
Who does your brand hero-worship? This will shape your identity in all of your brand materials and communications.
4. Play the long game
Establishing a brand is a sprint and not a marathon. Dedicate some time to the planning stage. Make sure that you can deliver what you promise. This helps you to build long-term trust.
5. Be consistent
Experimenting with styles may be fun but it is confusing for the client. If you are consistent it will reinforce your brand character and people will know exactly what to expect.
6. Do not be boring
Whilst consistency is a good thing, being boring is not! Don’t just say the same thing over and over again. Instead, you should stick to the same message but find innovative new ways of stating it.
7. Coping other brands is not acceptable
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but this is not the case in the business world. You can get into serious legal trouble by copying people. It also does not make good business sense. Consumers are on the hunt for brands that are original and authentic. They are looking for something that matches their beliefs and lifestyle. Many of the large brands have picked up on this and are trying to look like small independents.
8. Be bold and seize the day
The beauty of running a small business is that you do not have layers of bureaucracy to wade through when you want to make a change. This makes you supremely flexible and adaptable and enables you to react to changes in the market quickly. This gives you the edge over big business.
9. Don’t look cheap and desperate
It is always a good to offer discounts to attract customers but it is possible to overdo this. You risk diluting your brand positioning. As an alternative to cutting prices, you could offer more for the same price. This adds value without looking cheap. Promotions should be targeted and short-lived.
10. Try not to be too obvious
The days of printing your logo on everything and hoping for the best are over. Generate some intrigue and be a little more subtle and mysterious.
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What’s the one way to guarantee repeat custom from a new client? Trust. All successful relationships, whether personal or business, have to be built on it. If a customer doesn’t trust that you’re genuine or that you have their best interests at heart, they won’t be back for a second round, and they certainly won’t recommend you to colleagues and friends. Building that relationship of trust between seller and buyer is essential for keeping a contract strong, and here are just a few ways you can guarantee it.
1. Listen, don’t talk
It’s impossible to offer the appropriate products to a customer if you think you know better than they do about their needs. Listening to them talk about their wants and their concerns can better help you to understand exactly what it is they require, so when you come to talk, you’re offering the perfect solution. A client wants to know they’re being heard, so practice your listening skills and prove to them that they’re important.
2. Be realistic
Promising the Earth might make you look good at the point of sale, but when you can’t actually pull it off, you’re going to look like a fool whose mouth is too big. If you promise a specific product within a specific timeframe, just to secure a deal when they are stalling, knowing deep down that it’s impossible, you’ve got yourself a recipe for disaster. They are being honest with you about their expectations, and unfortunately, it is your place to explain to them if their expectations are unreasonable. Sooner that than having to let them down in the future.
3. Be identifiable
Customers like knowing who they are dealing with, whether over the phone or face to face. On telephone calls, always introduce yourself at the start and end of the call – you put a name and a responsibility to the transaction so they feel they can call back and speak directly to a recognisable person. In face to face communications, always wear identification like a name badge or ID on a lanyard such as those in this catalogue. This allows customers to take note of your name, but it also reassures them that you’re a professional, and you are officially associated with the company.
4. Don’t make excuses
Sometimes things go wrong, through no fault of your own, and your customer has to to find out. In these situations, don’t make excuses. Simply explain what has happened, offer your apologies, and move on to explaining your proposed solutions. Excuses sound like you’re trying to wriggle your way out of responsibility, and your customer just won’t appreciate that.
5. Don’t bad-mouth the competition
If you ever have to talk about your direct competition, keep it civil and cordial. Even if you think they’re dreadful as an organisation, your customer doesn’t need to know that – it just comes across as petty and insincere.
6. Keep your promises
Finally, never ever renege on a promise unless you absolutely have to. If you’re building trust with a client, you want them to know that you’ll always keep your word. Once you break that, it’s almost irreparable, but if you put your neck on the line and make promises, only to keep them, you’ll be placing yourself far beyond the competition.
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Making mistakes is fine. We all do it, from small mistakes to life-changing disasters. So it is with people in business. Embarking on a new venture can be rewarding, and the chances of getting things wrong are high. But then again, nobody’s perfect, not even experienced business owners with inflated egos and know-it-all attitudes
Whatever your position in business, take heed of the following mistakes that many people make along the way.
Having no vision
You need to have a vision for your company. Without one, you are destined to fail. You need a business plan, so you know where you are heading. Consider your target demographic, budget, and your goals in both the short and long term.
Being second best.
Maybe you have a business selling cushions. You may think you are the greatest cushion maker there has ever been. However, there are a lot of other cushion sellers out there, so you need to be able to compete with them to stand out in the market place. Check out the competition and find ways to make your product unique, in design and affordability. No matter how busy you get, don’t get corners. If your product is not up to scratch, it is not going to sell.
Doing everything
Sadly, no matter what you think, you are not superhuman. You may be able to take on some or all of the tasks your business needs, but you will be tiring yourself if you try to do everything. Find people who can help you, such as hiring new staff or an accountant for financial matters. Ultimately, it is better to be a master of a few things rather than everything.
Poor marketing
All good businesses use the power of the internet for their services. Whether you own an actual store or are setting up a business when working from home, you need to get online. Create a website to sell your product. Make a social media account, Facebook or Pinterest for example, and rally a legion of followers and customers. Send out business cards and flyers, through email and the post to local houses and businesses. Hire somebody with SEO skills to ensure you are featured prominently on search engines. Take out ads in the local media, including radio and newspapers.
It is rare that people will just stumble on to your business, so make it easy for them to find you.
Not budgeting properly
Many companies fall at the first hurdle because money dries up. You need to plan right at the beginning of your business, be it through saving capital or taking out a bank loan. You will run at a loss initially, but with the right marketing and selling tools, you will eventually make money.
Money invested into the business should not go towards the new TV you always wanted, so have separate bank accounts for business and personal use.
Most of us buy insurance cover to protect our lives and homes from potential damages. Doing the same for our business is equally as important. There are different types of business insurance, covering your assets, employees, and liability in the event your product harms somebody after purchase. It may cost a little in the short term, but is vital for the long term.
You still have a life outside of your business, so in budgeting take into account other important expenditure such as family, bills, and food!
Not taking it seriously
There is a lot of hard work involved in setting up a business, so it is important to take it seriously and not treat it like a hobby. Check out the competition when considering prices, spend time maintaining your website, and do all the legal and accounting paperwork. Cutting corners in any area of the business may cause problems down the line. Yes, it is hard work, but it should be worth it down the line when you start making a profit.
Poor leadership
If you have a small or large team working with you, it is important to communicate with them clearly. Share with your team the company vision and work collaboratively in making it come to fruition. Be honest about your feelings towards them, giving praise when it is due and pulling individuals up if they are slacking. Good communication is a two-way process so listen to the opinions of your team. Be a good role model, inspiring the trust of those around you. A good leader is one who knows what he wants and delivers on his promises. It is important to give equal respect to everybody on the team, to ensure you get the same in return.
Ignoring customer needs
Without customers, the business is not going to go anywhere. Therefore it is important to understand the needs of the customer. For example, help them to save money by offering promotional deals and allowing for free shipping of your product. Listen to any feedback and take action on it. When a customer raises a question, don’t wait a week before you answer them. Remember, there are probably hundreds of businesses like yours, so maintain customer loyalty, and consider these customer service quotes.
Forgetting their personal lives
Of course, you want to make a good go of your business, but don’t forget other areas of your life. Spend time with family and friends, and enlist their moral support in both the good and the bad times. Make sure you eat well and maintain a healthy lifestyle, including exercise to build up your physical and mental health. Being happy in both your personal and professional lives is important as if you fail in one you may fail in the other.
Giving up
You aren’t going to get rich overnight; it could take years to achieve. Whatever pitfalls you encounter, don’t give up too early. You need to persevere, seek help where you need it and be prepared to eat humble pie occasionally. If it doesn’t work out, well, at least you tried. Whatever mistakes you make, learn from them.
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Starting up a business, especially if it is something you feel passionate about, is one of the best things any budding entrepreneur can do. Having that drive and ambition to make something a success is potentially what fuels and motivates you to get up in the morning. Whether you are just starting out, have a fully fledged business, or even class your company a huge success, I think we can all agree that the marketing strategies you put in place are vital to your business growth. It is certainly one of the ways you can steer your business in the direction you want it to go.
However, we can all become a little blinded by it all. Focusing on the here and now, your targets, your sales potential, product, and service. We can forget to invest the time to look at how we make the journey, instead of what it is all about. It takes a while to get your business to where you want it to be, but do you consider how long this will take? Do you contemplate what tools and actions you will need to undertake? A decent marketing strategy can be the difference, the reason someone steps into your store or clicks on to your website. With that in mind, I thought I would share some of the best marketing strategies and ideas you could easily implement into your business model.
When was the last time you took a look at your branding?
Branding may not sit high on your list of things to be thinking about right now, but this is where you are making a big mistake. Your branding, your logo and your website are all the first impressions your business gets to make. A first impression can be decided upon in a matter of seconds. If someone doesn’t like the look of your website, perhaps can’t even find it on a google search ranking, or finds your colour choices bright and offensive, they will click off and look elsewhere. It may sound materialistic, but it’s true to society today.
Take some time to look at how your branding looks and your website. It’s important to ensure that you stick with an easy to use dynamic, as well as considering lighter and a more cleaned up approach to your brand. Keep things simple, often those simple designs and websites do the most talking. While on the subject of your website it’s all well and good it looking the part, but if no one can find it, what is the point? How you rank in a search engine is vital to your business success online. So many people will start out a web search on websites like Google. Placing in a few keywords or a sentence into the search engine and often look at the first few suggestions. If you happen to be ranked on page two, you may not get a look in. However, putting some focus on search engine optimisation could be a great investment. This is creating backlinks to your site, making those search engines think your website is of importance. It’s also about placing keywords in text, giving you again more opportunity to show up in searches your company will be relevant in. If all of this sounds a little alien to you, then get in touch with an seo company who will do all the hard work for you.
Your social media profile, be that on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to name a few, is your direct line to your existing and potential customers. It’s important to ensure you have an engaged audience. What they can do is extend your reach without you needing to do much else. Commenting on updates in Facebook, for example, will show in their followers feed. They may then take a look at what that person has been looking at, as we can all be a bit nosey, and then the chain reaction continues. You get to put eyes on your business by simply keeping your social media profiles updated, engaging, and full of content people want to see and read.
You can even consider investing some money into advertising through social media. Facebook and Twitter, for example, can then place your ad in front of people within a demographic you have requested. For very little, normally a daily charge, you can increase your presence and reach for your business.
Giving your business a voice actually can humanise your company and make it much more appealing to deal with. This can be done through status updates and call to action comments, but it could also be done through a blog. Allowing you space to discuss offers or share knowledge in a non-offensive un-sales like manner. A blog is another page of your websites, helping you with that all-important SEO we mentioned earlier.
Call to action comments could be a little different for you. Perhaps you ask for feedback on your social media pages, maybe run a completion which could get your page shared and increase your audience. There are many things you can consider. The trick would be to take a look at what other businesses are doing. You may not want to copy the style, but you can take note of what some businesses do well, or improve where they fail.
Consider your local community
A great tip is to ensure that you consider your locality. Perhaps you have a shop front in your local town, or just want to capitalise on being the only supplier in the area. Maybe you have competition and want to do things a little differently. Your local community could be a little gold mine for marketing and advertising.
There is a popular trend that more people want to shop locally. Be that for local produce or simply supporting the smaller or local businesses. So it’s a good strategy to be the local expert in your field and industry. This in effect could create great word of mouth advertising for you. You may also want to consider sponsoring local events or even getting involved in local charities. A charity needs all the help that they can get but it also opens up a new potential audience of customers for you. It can be a lucrative relationship on both parts. Advertising at events could mean supplying prizes for raffles or simply helping out. It can all depend on what your expertise are but getting your business heard locally will never be a bad thing.
Relationships with other businesses and your employees
When it comes to people you have working for you, they are your biggest advocate. Many people in social surroundings or at events will talk with other people, and one common subject is what you do for work. It’s word of mouth advertising without you even realising. Having a happy employee will mean that they will sing the praises of your business. Which could then lead onto a conversation about a potential new client then or in the future. If you don’t have happy people working for you, it could work against you. Meaning people will remember the negative vibes and not consider giving you their business.
You could also strike deals with other businesses in the area. Perhaps offering a discount for their employees and vice versa. This works for different industries as there is no competition, but you are securing potential future business.
There is so much that you can do to try it all could be a huge task, but stick with certain areas and do them well. The rest will follow.
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Being the joker isn’t always a bad thing. Who doesn’t dream of making everyone laugh at a dinner party? But, there’s no place for jokers in business. In fact, being the laughing stock could cost you custom, respect, and success. So, keep the jokes to yourself, and practice that poker face. If people consider you a serious individual, they’re more likely to put trust in you. They’ll know that you mean business, and won’t let them down. In short; it’ll make a world of difference. We’ve put together a quick-fire list of tips that should make people understand how serious you are.
Credentials
You may have thought you could escape the scrutiny of your credentials when you went it alone, but you’re out of luck. Professionals looking to do business with you will want to know what qualifies you to handle their money. People with qualifications carry more weight. If you turn up with nothing behind you, the chances are that you’ll get laughed off the table. For example, an engineer may not be given much time of day in a business setting. But, if that engineer has an engineering management masters, it’s a different matter. Credentials are also the main thing you can use to set you apart from the competition. For the most part, you will always be fighting others for sales. If you’re more qualified, you’re in a better position to get the deal. And, it’s not only qualifications that boost your credentials. Doing business with the right people is another thing to add to your list. Everyone will take you seriously if you’ve worked with the big boys in the past.
Remember You’re Always on Display
As the face of your business, you are always on display. This applies to your personal life and your business pursuits. You need to be on your best behavior. One wrong comment could come back to bite you later down the line. Get into the habit of censoring yourself before you speak. This even applies to your personal social media accounts. Once people know who you are, you need to stay squeaky clean. It’s also important to note that you must stay professional at business dinners and nights out. The wine may well be flowing, but you can’t afford to get wasted. What associates will take you seriously if they saw you dancing on the table the night before? Keeping a clear head is the best way to avoid a slip-up.
Ruthlessness Works
People who make it big in business are often ruthless individuals. Bear that in mind on your quest to become a serious business figure. If people think they can walk all over you, they’ll do so. You’ll become the joker all over again, and this time it’ll cost you. If you feel someone is taking advantage, make sure you call them out on it. Threaten to pull out of the deal, and watch them come crawling back. You can bet they won’t try the same thing twice.
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