With so many plates spinning in our businesses, it's easy to lose focus on some of the most important elements. These 4 tips will help you get back in tune with the core values that will help your business grow.
Tip 1: Know Your Target Market & Audience
This may be one of the most important tips to always have on your mind. As problem solvers, we are required to know our markets pain points, challenges, things that keep them up at night, and what motivates them. Everything you do in your business should revolve around this first tip. When you speak about your audience, make sure you are using the language and keywords that they use regularly. When you are advertising and educating prospects about your product, make sure you identify which problem of theirs you are solving. When you know your audience on a deeper level, it is easier to find effective ways of communicating with them.
Tip 2: Know Just Enough About Your Competition
It is good to know that there is someone else out there doing what you are doing. You can take advantage of your competitors information and view their method of marketing. Try and understand the practices that seem to be working for their business and the areas they can improve upon. There is wisdom in not reinventing what is already working, but in the process of getting to know your competition, don’t get so caught up with every detail about them that you lose focus on your own business. You and your competitor may both be selling similar solutions but there is one thing that they don’t have... you. Your personality, your experience, and your expertise, is unique. This uniqueness will always separate your business and offering from your competition. Your target audience is looking exactly for what you have, so it is important that your marketing efforts and pricing strategy speak to them. Those customers are not your competition’s customers. But if they are right now, it is only because they don’t know you exist!
Tip 3: Don’t Be Afraid to Make Changes
One thing that small business owners have in common is that they aren't afraid to shake things up. In the early days, and even beyond, you will discover that your product will go through many stages of fine tuning. Your customers will tell you what they want and don’t want. Don’t be afraid to make the necessary changes that must be made in order for your business to grow. Send out questionnaires, try something new for a season, and get to know what your customers are expecting of you. Continue to test and validate your product. All of the feedback you provided by your customers will tell you what changes need to made in order to grow your business.
Tip 4: Treat Each Customer Like They Are Your Only Customer
This final tip will be the thing that sets you apart from your competition. Make sure you listen and address your customers' concerns. Think about a time when a company made you feel heard, or when you felt like your input mattered. If it weren’t for customers, you wouldn’t have a business. Period! Serve your customers well and they will trust you enough to give you their money.
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