We live in uncertain times, and these uncertain times are filled with thousands of businesses, with hundreds of them often vying for the same market. Needless to say, standing out from the masses is very important if you want to find any success with your business. But how do you do that? What steps can you take?
The best thing to do is focus on customer engagement. This is achieved through many avenues, including having a great website, social media presence, SEO optimization, customer loyalty programs, and more.
There’s a lot to take in, but don’t worry: we’ll cover everything you need to know about making your business stand out from all the rest.
1. Have a Great Website
It is almost mandatory to have a website as a business these days. However, more than just having one, it must be good. An unintuitive website that is hard for customers to use will turn them away. It must be fast, easy to navigate, and include essential information like contact info and FAQs.
Most importantly, make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Not only does almost everyone own a phone these days, but Google now indexes mobile versions of sites over desktop ones. That means mobile websites show up first on Google searches!
2. Practice SEO
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” The concept is simple: you want your website to possess keywords that potential customers often search for online. This helps your website show up earlier on search engine results. The more words a person searches appear on your site, the better.
Having greater SEO than your competitors means your company will come up before theirs in online searches, which will help it stand out compared to everyone else.
3. Customer Loyalty Programs
Let’s say that you run a steakhouse. You have other steakhouses in your area that serve as your competition. When a potential client wants steak, what drives them to pick your steakhouse over others? Of course, your food and service quality is very important, but what if the other steakhouses compare on those fronts?
Something like a customer loyalty program can make a big difference. It makes clients feel attached to your business as they belong to a group of some sort. Tribalism can be an excellent way to get people invested in your business.
4. Create a Brand Story
Every business has a story, and like all stories, some are more compelling than others. Imagine that you run a shoe store. Of course, you have competitors that sell clothing too. But what if your brand story involves aiding the homeless or those affected by natural disasters?
Perhaps your brand story tells the tale of how you struggled to the top, working your hardest to make a big difference in your life and the lives of others. Either way, having a compelling story tied to your company helps it stand out against companies that either don’t have one or don’t have a good one.
5. Respond to All Reviews
While most businesses get reviewed by customers, not all businesses respond to reviews. Being one of the businesses that do so helps set you apart from the competition. It shows that you not only listen to your customers but that you are seriously considering their feedback and opinions.
Naturally, this is just good business practice overall, but it does help you differentiate yourself from all other companies.
6. Consider Rare Holiday Sales
Most businesses run sales during major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course, you should do that too. However, consider running sales on less common holidays if you want to stand out from everyone else. This is especially easy if you are a food business. There’s a national holiday for nearly every food.
Either way, having sales on niche holidays other businesses aren’t acting on helps create a more unique identity.
7. Run Frequent Social Media Contests
Social media is critical to a company’s image these days. Not only do you need to gain followers, but you need to keep them as well. Social media contests are a great way to do that, but they offer incentives for customers to continue engaging with your business over long periods.
An excellent way to do this is to have monthly social media contests for customers.
Conclusion
If you want to stand out from the other businesses in your area, you need to do what they do, but better. You also need to do the things they aren’t doing. You want your business to have a unique identity, achieved by unique offerings, relationships with customers, and special things for customers to engage with.
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