Did you know that most businesses in the United States are small businesses? If you’re a current or prospective small business owner you’ve likely given a lot of thought to what you can do to make your business “pop.” You know, that special set of factors that makes your business unique and sets it apart from the competition.
Even if you started out with a few unique factors in your back pocket this is far from a static goal. The market is always evolving, and your business should be too! Here are a few areas to consider when it comes to trying to make your small business stand out from the others.
Build Your Culture
Sometimes this can be a surprising area in terms of making a business unique. But there’s an old saying in sales that people buy from people, not products, and that rings true in other sectors as well. Taking the time to build your business culture and mold your employees into a cohesive team can go a long way in attracting customers. If your employees are happy and actively involved in promoting your business, customers will like dealing with them and may even come to associate your business with feeling good or happy smiles. So take the time to develop your culture for you and others working with you.
Develop Your Brand Architecture
Developing brand architecture can sometimes be confused with creating a culture, but it’s not really the same thing. Creating a culture is something that happens within, whereas brand architecture focuses on the message you’re sending to the outside world.
Brand architecture is often overlooked in the drive for growth at businesses. How do others – customers and competitors alike – view your business? Do you consistently try to associate yourself with any values, emotions, or a particular ethos in your advertising? These are all factors that will contribute to building brand awareness.
Know Your Niche
Most small businesses get off the ground by identifying and catering to a need in a particular sector of the market – your market niche. Many businesses also see a lot of initial success with catering to their niche.
But things change. Your target demographic gets older, other players enter the market, new technology shifts things a little. Small and subtle changes like these are the reason why you need to keep focused on your niche.
Running a small business is no easy task, but the basic principles of success aren’t some complicated formula. The key is to keep up with the market and stick with it, adapting as needed.
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