(ThyBlackMan.com) Any enterprise or entrepreneurial journey is filled with challenges along the way; however, you’ll be ready for all the hard work, potential late nights, and plenty of coffee. It can feel daunting when you’re starting your own business, as there’s fierce competition out there, and with so many major corporations seemingly running the show; you might be feeling worried that you’ll make no impact. However, don’t worry; there are plenty of opportunities to succeed out there; more and more consumers are craving something a little different. People are become tired of mass-produced items, and mediocre services that come from a massive business. Therefore, it’s a great time to hit the market with whatever it is you’re so proud of and want to provide your clients and customers.
So, you’ve made the decision to get your show on the road; now is the time to ensure that you have everything in place so that your business can run smoothly from the get-go. Productivity and momentum need to remain high so that you can provide your visitors, customers, and clients, with a professional approach and leave them feeling impressed. First impressions in new business are crucial to its future success, and it’s vital that you build-up trust so that people keep returning to invest in what you can provide. So many issues with new business can come from a butterfly effect, from something minor within the company, and it can result in disappointed patrons. Therefore, you need to ensure that you’ve tied-up any loose ends, and gone through each area of your business processes in detail so that everything is in great shape during your tentative, fledgling year. The following are some ideas, inspiration, and advice for entrepreneurs who want their startup to hit the market with a boom, knowing that they’re pleased with what’s happening behind the scenes.
Build Strong Relationships
Whatever size your business is, you can’t expect to grow and succeed if you’re going it alone. The relationships you make, build, and strengthen during your startup journey, will be crucial to its longevity and future. You’ll need to start with your team. Whether you have a fellow investor or partner, or are able to employ a small group of people with the required skills, you’ll need to ensure that you have a positive and functional working relationship with them. Communication is key; be open and honest with one-another so that you can all develop and grow from feedback. Make regular meeting, 
both group and individual, mandatory so that everyone feels that they have a platform to share any issues, suggestions, or good news. As the one who runs the show, you’ll need to keep the motivation high so that productivity doesn’t slow down. People are far more likely to work hard, or put that little extra effort into their role, if they have all they need, and enjoy the place in which they work. This will filter through to the quality of what you produce or provide, and your new and potential customers will be the ones who benefit.
The same goes for any suppliers or manufacturers you use. Remember that it works both ways; if you lose trust in another business or you feel like the quality of work you’re investing in, isn’t cutting it; it’s time to look into utilizing someone or somewhere else. Look into tools to manage your contacts so that you can keep them up-to-date regularly, and speak to them with ease. Make the most of networking events or any trade shows you do; people remember those that they like, so ensure you’re friendly, learn a little about them, and let them know all about what you do. Always stick to your end of the bargain, whether it’s with payment, meetings, or orders; this will solidify your reputation as reliable and positive. These factors will contribute to other businesses in the industry being attracted to you, and wanted to work with you.
Keeping Customers Impressed
Your first influx of clients and customers will be an integral part of the future of your brand and business. With so much competition out there, if you don’t impress them, they won’t be returning to give you a second chance. Worse yet, if you disappoint, or upset anyone; there’ll be bad reviews out there, ensuring that other people are put off from even paying your site or store a visit. Therefore, it’s vital at this early stage to do all you can to make the best first impression possible and continue to impress them so that they feel confident to return and invest again. Again, it’s the relationships with these people that need to take priority, and, fortunately, there are plenty of simple ways to ensure that they remain positive, happy and fruitful. You’ve got the behind the scenes situation working, you’ll be excited about the quality of your service or product, and now’s the time to make a positive impact.
Communication can make a major difference in how a customer views your business. Even minor mistakes can be dissolved, if your response and engagement with those affected, is second-to-none. Therefore, make sure that ending with each visitor and patron, is a key part of what you do. As a new startup, people may be unsure of the things your sell or provide, and they’ll have plenty of questions. Therefore, you need to be available and accessible as a business so that they can contact you with ease. Pop-up chat boxes on your website, along with your email, number, and social handles, should all be visible as soon as a visitor arrives. It will give them a boost of confidence in your company, if they feel that they can communicate with you in a straightforward manner. And remember, it’s no use having all the contact details, but nobody to respond; so, ensure that replies are as swift and helpful as possible. You can utilize an automated response service for those times that you’re contacted out of business hours; however, ensure that the customers understand it’s an auto-response, and that you’ll be in touch the next working day.
Make sure that you’re as friendly and as helpful as possible; each customer needs to feel important, and like their time is being valued. People often get frustrated at feeling like just another number, so, make the most of being a smaller, independent business, and shine above those major corporations. Ensure that problems are resolved with the customer’s interest in mind; you want them to be happy to return again, so it’s not worth upsetting them for the sake of a little lost time and money, especially if you’re in the wrong. Gestures of goodwill go a long way too, and will leave them with a positive feeling about your brand, rather than remembering whatever the problem may have been.
Stick To What Matters
You’ll be promoting whatever you feel your USP is already; you’ll have started your business because you feel that you can offer something better, of different from the masses. Therefore, it’s crucial to remember your ethics, identity, and stick to your voice. Building a strong brand identity is the best way to attract the right audience. Whether it’s how you handle your customer care, as previously mentioned, or the processes you use to produce what you do; these are the details that need to be shared. Make the most of your online and printed platforms; it’s vital that people can access plenty of information about your business, should they wish to. Again, it’s about strengthening the trust between your business and customers, and other businesses. Transparency and clarity will be key to becoming an appealing option for many.
Sharing and talking about your company values is also an excellent chance to develop the tone of your business. You’ll want to feel approachable at all times; however, it’s up to you to gauge how professional, humorous, or characterful you make your marketing, communications, and engagement with those you’re addressing. Always consider your target market, and how they’d want to be spoken and sold to. This will help you write the copy on your website and social media platforms, and decipher how much, and what, you’ll be posting throughout the week. In a digital age, people are more likely to respond to something amusing or topical that they see online. Therefore, try to keep up to date with what’s happening in the media, and figure out how it can relate back to your business. Always pop a click-through or encourage a call to action so that everything works in both the customer’s, and your business’s favor.
While you should always stick to your brand and its morals, don’t be fearful of change or adapting. You’re heading into an ever-evolving environment, where new things are utilized, built, and offered-up, all of the time. Therefore, you’ll need to make the most of what’s happening, and leading to success for other businesses. You don’t want to appear dated or behind the times, so invest, update, and change when necessary, while you keep what’s important to your company at the heart of everything you do.
Staff Writer; William Harris