What sets you apart from the rest?

Starting a business can be daunting, there is so much to do and business owners usually start with a rush of activity, then in time interest in your goods or services seems to lose popularity. It’s not entirely unusual as people will be intrigued at first, then as you become more established it gets harder to gain or retain interest.

So how do you set about bringing your business back to the forefront and set it apart from your competitors?

Use your resources

First of all you already have a very useful resource in your clients.  Send out a survey, encourage participation and feedback, make an offer or a competition out of it. Think hard about what you want to learn from this and how you can change your business to suit your customer’s needs and what changes that you may need to make your business stand out from the crowd.

Check out the competition

Have a look at your competitors, what do they offer that is different from your business and compare.  Can you think of something unusual to attract more interest that other businesses don’t offer?  For example if you own a lawn cutting service, it might be a good idea to offer a free weed and feed with the first cut or a fashion outfitters could offer a personal wardrobe co-ordination service.  With good feedback you may chance upon a really good idea.

Diversity is the key

When you first started out you probably had something unique that made the point of difference – to be truly successful in business you must learn to adapt.  Markets change constantly and so your services and products must change too.  Keep a watch for opportunities where you know you can make a distinction, utilise your expertise and think about what your customers are likely to be interested in.

Encourage your staff to come up with other inspirational ideas, involve them in decisions and they will be encouraged to share more with you.

The key to success is keeping your business fresh as new customers will be attracted to you and your existing clients will be pleased to pass on anything new and exciting to their friends.