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What makes a company stand out above all the others? Is it the employees? Is it the business itself? Or is it proper advertising? The answer is all three. A lot of people think that one out does the other but they don’t. In order to stand out you have to be willing to bring things together to work and you have to be able to put it all together. In this article we will go over several ways to stand out as a business, whether it be your employees, the business itself, advertising,atmosphere or the community. So let’s get started shall we?
1. Your Employees: Starting here to me is important, why, because I personally believe that your business is only as good as the people you employee. The employees make the
business work, they are the ones who keep the wheels moving as well as making sure
the wheels are greased. You always want to keep them happy and motivated to a
certain degree,it keeps the creative juices flowing for them and it also keeps their moral
up. You never want to have an employee who doesn’t enjoy coming to work, it not only
means that they don’t enjoy coming to work but it also means that they don’t care for the
people they work with either. Keep that moral up at all times, if you see a employee
struggling stop and ask what you can do to help improve them in the area that they are
having trouble with, let the employee know that you appreciate all the hard work they do
on a daily bases ( you really have no idea what kind of effect this has on people ) and
keep the mood in the company as uplifting as possible. Again you are only as good as
the people you employ, not only will your employees appreciate the way you are but that
mood will carry on to the customers they interact with also. I can not tell you how many
times I have walked into a store and seen employees not happy or in a bad mood and
then I see who their boss is and it makes sense. You have to understand that if your
employees are happy, your customers will be also.
2. The Atmosphere: This goes back to the first topic of your employees, the atmosphere is
just as important. You walk into a store like Gander Mountain and the first thing that you
are greeted by is someone who has a smile on their face and greets you upon your
arrival, that age old saying of “ first impressions are the most important “ still holds true.
You want to be in a place that you feel most comfortable at. Let’s be honest folks we go
to places like a Gander Mountain to escape from our everyday life, it’s like a sanctuary to
some, others may decide to go too the beach, go kayaking or simply go to the park and
read a book but for those who choose to go to a business the atmosphere is what helps
them relax. Now picture this, you walk into a Gander Mountain and nobody greets you, a
sales rep walks right past you and doesn’t even acknowledge you are there and
everyone seems to be walking on eggshells. Would that be a place you would want to go
and spend your hard earned money at? Probably not! It is that kind of atmosphere that
people do not like going into and they without a doubt do not want to spend money
there. So having the right employees with the right attitudes creates the right atmosphere
which leads to happy customers.
3. Advertising: We all know that advertising is one of the best ways and to some the only
way to get your business name out there. You see it all the time and some turn a blind
eye to it. We see it on billboards, bus stops, tv, the radio, social media, restaurant menus
just to name a few. Now you have the right employees and you have created the right
atmosphere now it’s time to get promoting, what do you do? A lot of folks would say go
for social media first ( Facebook and what not ) and start there and yes I would have to
agree. Social media has become one of the biggest and best ways to advertise. You put
a status up on your facebook page about your business where all of your friends or
followers can see and then ask them to share the post which will then generate to some
friends or followers you do not have and before you know it the post and your company
has gone viral. This is good right? Yes it is! New business is always good and
welcoming, I still say word of mouth is still the best form of advertising, you take the
amazing employees you have and add the great atmosphere you have created because
of that and BOOM you got hundreds of people talking about how amazing your place is.
I can not tell you how much new business I have seen as a result of word of mouth, it’s
not only overwhelming but also very humbling knowing you have impacted someone that
much by a simple interaction.
4. The Community: Regardless on if it is a neighborhood or a business, having a good
standing in the community is important. You do not want to live or conduct business in
an area where you do not have a good foothold in. How do you get in good with the
community you may ask? It’s simple, make a good first impression. When people walk
into your establishment or see you ( the owner ) out and about be kind and make
conversation, this shows people that not only are you a business owner but you are also
a humble and professional business owner also. Be the type of business owner or
manager (whichever works) that when people see you they can come to you and talk. I
learned this from a gentleman that I worked for named Larry, he was the GM at a place I
worked at and whenever he was out with his employees people would always walk up to
him and say “hello” or “ hey Larry how’s business?” I use to think this was somewhat
annoying as a young kid and I even expressed to Larry “ Doesn’t it bug you when you
are not at work and people come up to you all the time?” his response is something I will
never forget “ Son, when you can make a small impact on a stranger’s life that had no
idea who you were yesterday and they say hello to you today wouldn’t that be something
you would welcome?” I never knew what that meant until I started running a business
myself and from there I saw he was right. It takes a special person to be able to impact a
community but it takes an even more special person to have that community impact him.
5. Knowing The Competition Of Your Business: Here is a touchy subject to some but to me
this is very important, as a man who has grown up watching martial arts greats like
Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Jackie Chan then later on
started practicing mixed martial arts I learned one thing that I will always remember and
that is to scout out the competition. There is nothing wrong with knowing what you are up
against. Knowing who you are up against isn’t a sign of weakness or is it in anyway
disrespectful it simply means that you have respect and admiration for them and know
that it is going to be tough to compete against them but you are eager to try. This shows
that you are not blind to the fact that you have competitors and you acknowledge them
for being a strong presence in your particular line of work.
Well that will do it for this article, I hope you found it helpful and beneficial to what you are trying
to or looking to accomplish in your line of work. Thank you again for reading.
-Josh Cardoza, Strategic Alliance Coordinator
