Let’s face it, it’s a dog eat dog world in business. No matter the size of your company – whether you are a startup or you have been in business for a long time – you run the risk of getting lost in a sea of other organizations either just like yours or doing at least some of the same things you are doing. It is imperative that you stand out in everything you do in order to gain, maintain, or grow market share.
What are some ways you can stand out amongst your
competition?
Customer Service
Customer service is one important way you can stand out
against your customers. Are your employees empowered to handle any issue that
arises? Does everyone in your organization go above and beyond every day?
Exceptional customer service will gain you customers and repeat customers and
that is the key to any successful business.
Quality of
Product/Service
Another critical way to stand out is through the quality of
the products and/or services you provide. In what ways are you better than the
competition? Are you telling people about those ways? Are you getting customer
testimonials to show potential customers that others who have used your
products or services agree that yours are better quality? Be the best. And tell
people about it.
Staff + Leadership
This one goes with the first two above. When you have
excellent staff around you, your business will flourish, you will have the best
products and services, and you will provide exceptional customer service. If
you have excellent leadership you will allow your staff the freedom and
autonomy to make it so.
Innovation
Always, always, always be looking at new, more efficient,
more effective ways to meet your customers’ needs. Be first to market with
these new ideas and you will win and keep market share.
Creativity
We recently included a blog post about maintaining an energized organization that included many
ideas to keep your organization energized and foster creativity. Foster a
creative culture and you will always be innovating and leading the competition.
Branding
Last but certainly not least, your overall organizational
brand should stand out. Branding incorporates all of the above, along with your
messaging and look and feel. Be sure your look is current, crisp, and speaks to
everything else about your organization. Revise it to keep up with the ever-changing
times. Tell the story through your brand through all the ways mentioned, and
solidify it through excellent and consistent marketing and social media
activities.
It may be a dog eat dog world but you don’t need to get lost
in that sea. Stop and think about how your organization is standing out. Could
you be doing better?
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Kerry Brooks is Co-owner of ProfessionalEdge Associates, offering a wide range of marketing and support services to businesses that want to increase their success, but aren't in a position to add to their staff. Visit the ProfessionalEdge website at www.gettheprofessionaledge.com, email info@gettheprofessionaledge.com, follow us on Twitter @profedge, or like our Facebook page.
Kerry Brooks is Co-owner of ProfessionalEdge Associates, offering a wide range of marketing and support services to businesses that want to increase their success, but aren't in a position to add to their staff. Visit the ProfessionalEdge website at www.gettheprofessionaledge.com, email info@gettheprofessionaledge.com, follow us on Twitter @profedge, or like our Facebook page.
