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Your business runs as long as you can sell your product or service. People buy what you offer only if you can attract them, which raises a question:
How can you attract them?
The answer is simple, and everyone knows this, but not many understand it.
Create a powerful image of your business.
All you have to is ensure that everyone knows that your business exists and they have a good opinion about it. Everyone in the market, your competitors, and your potential customers should know that your business does its job professionally. This will give them the confidence to trust you. They will rely on what you offer instead of going to someone.
Let me give you an example.
Even if there are chips/crisps way tastier and cheaper than Lays, you would still prefer Lays. The reason is their brand image. Everyone believes that they may compromise on quantity, but they never compromise on quality, which people expect from edibles. Lays have never said such a thing ever in any of their advertisements. It’s just how people have created its image in their minds.
A business with such a powerful image never fails, and it doesn’t have to worry about its competitors. They attract customers even without marketing.
Here I have shared some experience-based tips on how a new business, no matter what industry, can build a powerful brand image in its market.
Create an Inspiring Story
Pick any big brand of today; they have a story that inspires even their competitors. One example is McDonald’s. How it started so small and became one of the largest food chains in the world, making its owner one of the richest men on the planet.
So what’s your story?
I’m doing it for the money isn’t a good enough reason. Even if the story is not that good, what matters is how you represent that story.
Anyone who read the story of your business should feel a personal connection with you. They should feel that you would never compromise on your values even if your company goes bankrupt. You will need to story good enough to create a trustworthy image of your business in the minds of your prospects.
Design an Innovative Website
I often say that you should treat the business website like a branch or office. The Internet is a market, the biggest in the world. By creating a website, you have created a shop in that market that will be visited by your potential customers.
Now ask yourself what you would do if you walked into a bakery that does not look very neat?
A man with conscious would most probably walk out right there. No one would trust a business that can’t even properly take care of itself.
Same if the case with your website. It must be very neat, friendly, and attractive. Anyone who visits it should be impressed.
Now there are many user-friendly websites, then how would you stand out from them?
Be very innovative when designing the website. Hire the best designer you can find and ask him to pour all his creativity out. Something that none your competitors have done that will leave your potential customers in awe. It will create an impressive image of your business in their minds. They will unconsciously feel that you are a perfectionist. And a perfectionist just never comprises on quality for the sake of his own peace of mind.
Professional Customer Service
Businesses need to have a phone number where their prospects can call for information or other assistance. This is something that is done even before a company starts its operations. If a potential customer calls your number and no one attends it, it won’t be a very good image of your business. The call must always be attended by a human who should professionally guide the caller.
You will need a customer representative for this job. But the problem is, you will need to hire a full-time employee just to receive calls. In the beginning, you won’t be getting enough calls to make it worth the salary of your representative. And once your business has escalated, there won’t be enough phone numbers or employees to receive the calls.
This makes your job of providing quality customer service very difficult. Besides, we can’t ignore the investment it will take. It is, however, crucial if you want to create a powerful and reliable brand. So the best solution is to acquire the Answering Service of a call center. They have a professional staff that receives all your calls and guides in the most professional manner. They learn everything about your business and customers to ensure the best of customer service. It will not only make customer service more professional and easy but also cost-effective.
Make Your Employees Happy
A company is not a product or service. It’s not even its owner or a building. A company is its employees. If you have good employees, you have a great company. Many executive officers find it difficult to get their heads around this concept that its workers run a business. If you hire cheap and unqualified staff, that’s the image your business will get.
Sometimes, businesses can’t create a good image even with the most qualified professionals. This happens when your employees are not happy with you. Just the salary is not enough. They will achieve their targets, but a company needs their sincerity and motivation to scale. If you keep your employees happy, everyone will want to work for you. A company where the best of professionals desire to work is the most powerful image in any market. Your competitors will be scared of you, and your potential customers would want the work of the best of professionals that you have.
Develop Friendly Company Culture
People believe what your employees say about your company. You want to make sure that the only say good things about it, which is only possible if you provide them an environment they desire. Of course, it doesn’t mean allowing them to sit home, but you would want them to work in a friendly environment where they feel like home.
How is it possible?
First of all, stop putting so much pressure on them.
Second, make them feel comfortable, happy, and at a place where they are cared for. This is the reason many companies have game rooms. They have gaming setups, in-house theatres, foosball, and snooker. Other than that, try to be more creative to make the workplace unique and friendly.
Offer a Great Product or Service
This should definitely be one of your top priorities. All your other efforts are useless if you can’t do this. Make sure the product or service you offer is the best in the market. No advertisement would be enough to cover the damage a bad product will do to your brand. Make sure you don’t compromise on the quality even if you go in loss. All that you lose will be recovered if you can manage to maintain a brand image that keeps its customers happy.
Once you start getting more customers, you can increase your rates, but never decrease the quality. You will also find people who are just not willing to pay more, and you might need the work. In such a scenario, accept the project and deliver work that the customer can’t help but praise. He will put in a good word about you in the market. Next, when he comes back, you can charge more to make your profit.
Keep Your Audience Engaged
Attracting customers is one job; engaging them is another. They will forget about you if you fail to engage them properly. You have to keep reminding them that they came to you and had a good experience and they should come again. However, you should also make sure not to irritate them. That’s why you will need the help of a professional to devise a strategy for you.
One good practice is to only remind them through an SMS or email when you have something to offer. For example, if there is a sale or discount, your customers would want to know, and they won’t feel bothered. Retaining customer costs a lot less compared to attracting a new one. It will also ensure they don’t forget the good image of your business.
Run Campaigns on Social Media
I discussed in the beginning how you need to have a great inspirational story. Now the question is how you will deliver it to your potential customers? The answer is social media advertisements. Billions of people use social media platforms. You can use it to your benefit by running brand awareness campaigns.
It’s a lot cheaper and effective. Moreover, you get to learn about your market and audience through information and insights these channels share. You can see how many people saw your post and how many reacted to it. You can compare it with your sales to learn how it helped your business.
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