Most successful people in the world have one thing in common: they create value for others. When you do this, you are successful. You can make more money and find happiness at the same time! And it doesn’t take a lot of effort to start creating value for others. It just takes an understanding of what your business is about and why someone might want to buy from you.
1. The importance of understanding what you’re selling
Small business owners are often under the impression that they are selling their products and services, but in truth they’re really just selling what those products and services do for people. What are you selling? What value does it provide?
If you’ve ever taken any sales training, you’ve probably been given the advice to turn features into benefits.
In other words, take features of your products and/or services and flip them into what the benefits are for your customers.
When you purchase from a car dealership, the dealer is selling you benefits such as convenience, reliability, availability, and security.
A clothing company might be selling you the benefit of being fashionable and unique.
You can also think about what your customers are trying to accomplish. Are they trying to achieve increased satisfaction in their personal relationships?
Are they looking to find relief from a chronic pain condition that bothers them every day?
Or perhaps they are working to build confidence through improved appearance? Benefits don’t always have to be tangible either. Mental benefits like stress reduction or emotional benefits like more happiness can also be a result of using your product or service.
The essence of what turning features into benefits is that your customers aren’t buying your product or service directly for themselves; they’re buying them based on the expectation of how it will make them feel.
2. Why it is important to understand why your product or service is valuable
The whole point of small businesses is to create a successful business, but when you’re not clear about what you sell or why people should buy from your company over another one, how can anyone really be successful? If I own an ice cream shop and don’t understand that the most important thing my store sells are “fun times” then I’m doomed for failure.
If instead of selling “creating memories,” I try to sell vanilla in unique flavors like lavender with honeycomb pieces on top – because those ingredients cost more than plain old vanilla – who’s going to come back again and again if they just want their go-to favorite flavor at a reasonable price? Not many people. And sure
3. Understanding the market and competition in order to stand out from the rest
Ever wonder how to stand out from the rest of the crowd?
Well, you’re not alone.
But it’s not always easy.
There are so many small businesses in this world and it can be difficult to differentiate yourself from them all.
However, if you understand your market and competition then it’s a lot easier.
You’ll be able to go into detail about what sets you apart from the other companies in your industry as well as know where there are gaps that could use filling .
Here are some examples of ways that you can stand out from the competition:
Have a better price
If you’re the cheapest, or have the best price, let people know! Lean into the “bargain” aspects of your business.
If you’re not the cheapest, then lean into your other strengths.
You could emphasize certain features of your product or service that competitors don’t have, like a free trial period for customers to test out their products before deciding if they want to buy them.
Maybe you offer better customer service than most other businesses in the industry? Maybe all your employees are bilingual and can help with any language barriers for international customers? These things make it worth coming back to shop at your store! And remember: when people come back again and again, every single purchase is an investment because each person becomes more invested in what you do as time goes on – which means more repeat business . Spending money now instead of always looking for bargains will
Have a personality
If you are a locally-owned and operated family business, make sure to put your own family-oriented dynamic on the public-facing aspects of your business marketing. On Facebook, I would recommend that you focus more on your team and employees rather than your products and services. If you can share pictures, videos, and stories of your team demonstrating your products or services, that will be even better.
Offer unique features that are missing from other businesses in your industry.
Do you know how you compare to your competition?
What are you doing that they aren’t doing?
What do you have that your competition doesn’t have?
One of the common complaints that I hear from my clients are their frustrations with OTHER web designers. They would take too long, or wouldn’t call them back. It would seem like they would drop off the face of the earth.
I took those complaints to heart, because I realized that I had been guilty of some of the things that give freelancers a bad name.
I started to pay more attention and show up in the moment, which is a huge part of successful freelancing.
Provide an experience rather than just selling the product or service.
To have customers come back to your store, you need to give them something that will make them happy.
You can’t just have good prices or even bargains.
Value means making sure that each customer has a good experience and gets lots of service.
Make sure they know how special their time is with you by giving great service and being honest about why they should buy from you instead of someone else.
Know where there are gaps in what you offer, then do those things too.
That’s true success: understanding your business
4. Ways to make sure people know about your product or service
Companies are always looking for ways to promote their products and services. Here are some of the best strategies that you can use to make sure people know about your product or service:
Create a strong social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or whatever social media platform is appropriate for your target audience.
You must go where your audience is.
Don’t expect them to come to you (because they won’t).
Think about how you can educate, encourage, or entertain your audience, keeping in mind everything that we’ve discussed above.
What does your target audience care about that would cause them to interact with you on Facebook?
What is in it for them?
What does your audience not know that you could educate them on?
What do they want to know?
Give away free videos or blog posts so that people can see them.
This will give you new content that people want to share and interact with.
People might also be interested in buying your product or service when the time comes, if they like what they see.
