Three Aspects to a Successful Business
- Desirable
- Service oriented
- Emotionally connected
Desirable
How can you be attractive to customers is what we are asking ourselves. These are some tips here to help you not just attract new customers, but create a constant customer base.
Location—You have no further to look than your own community to know that there are certain locations that just seem to be terrible for business. You see business after business locate there only to have them go under.
UPS helped many businesses succeed by becoming the fulfillment center for those companies. Locating to take advantage of order fulfillment center or to a prime location where your customers will see you can make a huge difference. It is also why it makes sense to be sure you are marketing to businesses near to you.
If your industry is in another state or city, you might just want to relocate to improve your customer base.
You need to be close as possible to your customers for them to consider you.
This is not just about a bricks and mortar location—having your online presence easily accessible is another way. Also, while the client may be around the world, their subject could be next door to you. Letting people know where you live may get you the job.
Presentation—What kind of impression do you leave? How often have you gone to a restaurant and go to wash your hands only to leave due to a dirty the restroom?
Uniforms are used in so many businesses because this is the only way they can assure a consistent appearance for their customers.
Be sure everything that the customer will see from you is consistent in quality and look.
Pricing—You must know what you must charge to make a profit. You must also understand the marketplace. If you were rated like the hotel industry, would you be a one star, two stars or maybe a five star rated business?
Expertise—How knowledgeable are you about your product and services? As a photographer I have to know when someone calls me if what they want photographed is possible as well as knowing everything needed to create the image.
This expertise is more than being able to answer questions. If you are an expert in the field you will most likely be asking questions to help guide the client. Are you asking questions that help the client understand you can help them?
Marketing—You must advertise in all the right places. If you know who your targeted audience is you will be able to reach them more cost effectively than trying to let everyone know about you.
Service
Great service is proactive and not reactionary. Exemplary service is like having someone complete your sentence for you. You anticipate a need before the customer realizes it.
Five star hotels have bellmen to distinguish them from three star properties. Before you are even getting out of your car they are opening the car door for you. They are offering to get your bags before you have even thought of needing them.
Five star restaurants are helping place the napkin in your lap; keeping your glass filled and doing table touch in. They are offering freshly ground pepper or cheese for your meal. You never have to search for the waiter; they are already there when you need them.
Great service is considered second mile service for a reason. In the marketplace with your price point there is a certain basic level of service expectation. This means if you are just meeting the standard then you are just average. It is when you are already meeting the standards and then go beyond them with surprise service do you get the WOW effect.
Emotionally connected
This is by far the most difficult thing to do in business, but what those top in an industry are doing.
You are focusing all of your attention on creating a relationship with the customer and not just getting a transaction.
The hardest part about creating emotional connections is you have to really want a genuine relationship with the client. No matter the actions you take, if your heart isn’t into it the customer knows they are just being played.
Most of my friends enjoy eating out. In Roswell where I live we have a good number of great restaurants. The restaurants we love to go to over and over have a few things in common. They all serve fresh food that tastes great. The restaurant is clean. But most of all I feel like a guest in one of my best friends homes.
When I go to those restaurants each one of them knows our family. They ask about our kids and how things are going. Sometimes the places are so busy they are rushing about, but they still take just enough time to say hello. At least one time in the history of eating there, they have taken the time to talk and get to know me. A few even sat down with us and we chatted about each other’s lives.
The key here is they were interested in my life and over time I too became interested in them. It was the authenticity of their actions that has me going back.