Now, while it might be harsh to say that your business is not exactly one of a kind, you would have to admit that no matter what kind of business you are running, ninety-nine percent of the time you will have some sort of competition. Now, this does not mean you are unoriginal, it is only expected that out of the billions of people on this earth someone has thought of something similar. Maybe not even the same business model or even same kind of business, but something which might go for the same target market. That is the moment you have to start thinking to yourself, “how would I make my business stand out from the crowd”.
Shutterstock Licensed Photo – By Graphic farm\
Make your customers feel special
First impressions go a long way, you know what goes an even longer way? Second impressions. When it comes to customer service, consistency is key. If someone comes into your shop or office, and they are treated nicely, not feel ignored or disregarded, that in itself will probably be enough for them to come back. However, if you do not keep this up during their next visit, they will come to the conclusion that you or your staff was only treating them nicely so that they would come back and leave more of their money with you. It’s after the second and third time they come around, and are consistently happy with your services, when they start putting in a good word for you here and there, or recommending you to their friends. When that starts taking place, everything starts rolling from that point onwards. As long as you keep treating your customers right, word of mouth will often prove to be one of your best advertising tools, not to mention, as long as you keep up your standards, it will remain self-perpetuating and free.
Shutterstock Licensed Image – By fatmawati achmad zaenuri
Be online friendly
Despite the internet being as widely accepted as it currently is, phones and computers are still not some people’s second nature. Some websites can be somewhat hard to navigate, with confusing layouts and unclear site categories. Making them more user-friendly using services such as Brandbits, can greatly help both you and your customers. More interactive, yet simple designs tend to prove themselves much more useful than cluttered and possibly overwhelming ones. When you have your actual layout sorted out, it is important that all the features which are most likely to be the popular choices on the site, are the most intuitive to find and use. Features such as an “about us” page, or a store locator, gallery, stock check, pricing or even just contact information, should be very clearly displayed or easy to find. This does not mean you have to fit everything on the front page, ending up with an ungodly mess of links and images. It just means that everything should be easily accessible to the average user. Before you end up making some design choices, ask yourself: is what you are about to include in your site mobile friendly? While the PC may still the superior and definitive way of browsing the web, a gigantic number of users are now on mobile platforms. This means nothing fancy which requires flash support, no overly intensive graphics, no super high-resolution images or anything of the sort. These are all things you have to actively keep in mind when attempting to create a website your customers will be truly satisfied with.
