12 ways to ensure people remember your business
Want to grow a thriving business that lasts the distance? Here are 12 ways to ensure people remember your business.
In business, it’s important to strive for longevity. It’s a fickle world and you never know whether your startup will turn out to be a roaring success or whether you will need to go back to the drawing board.
Starting out with a well thought through business plan is a positive beginning, but there are so many factors – many of them external – that can influence your success. And one of the most important deciders of your business’ longevity is whether your customers, the people you identify as needing or wanting the product of service you sell, like and love what you do. And not just like or love it once, while consuming your product or service or encountering your marketing or social media, but actually remember you.
Think of all the household names you’re aware of today. Many of them will have been in business for a significant amount of time – some many years, others many decades. In fact it can feel like they’ve always been there. You might have grown up using them, or humming their ad.
Growing a brand with longevity isn’t easy, though. For every business that is still around there are many more than fell by the wayside. That may have achieved short term success but failed to last the distance. Products that fell out of favour or fashion. Or services that were no longer needed. Or sometimes their offering itself was, and even still is, relevant, but the business failed to establish relevance and memorability. And instead of continuing to find new customers, it was overtaken by a competitor.
And while not every business will aspire to reach the heights, size and fame of the likes of Apple and Coca-Cola, even small local businesses need to remain relevant and known in their local community. Whatever size your business you can’t afford to neglect your reputation.
You need to be liked and loved by the people who find and use you, and ensure that not only will they become loyal, repeat customers but they’ll keep you business thriving by recommending you to other new customers. So how can you do that? Here are 12 ways you can ensure people remember your business for the right reasons. s
1) Create a real, authentic brand that people can get on board with
Your business isn’t just something that brings in money and helps you to create a living – and plenty of jobs for people. It’s a journey that people will want to get behind. You’ll want to create a relationship with the people you’re going to be providing for.
If you can create something that people will fall in love with, then you’re going to last an awful lot longer. They’ll feel a connection with you and will keep coming back when you bring products/services out. It’s a genuine project that one must put their heart and soul into – if you think and feel it will be long-term then that’s a good start. If it’s a get-rich-quick scheme, then you’ll likely fall down after a couple of difficult hurdles.
2) Don’t overcomplicate things
It can be very easy to try too hard and to alienate people. All consumers want is to be satisfied when they’re in need. If you can do that, then you’ll be in business for a long while.
While people are sometimes pretty desperate to get their hands on the product or service they need, they’re also not stupid – they’ll see right through an amateur looking to pose as someone who knows what they’re doing. They’ll also feel a little uneasy if you’re trying too hard. Just do things simply and make sure you’re satisfying.
3) Think about colour psychology
People are often attracted to certain colors and various other designs. While this may not apply all of the time, it’s amazing how often it is used. Color psychology isn’t the only example, but we’ll use it in this post.
There are plenty of different things you can do to things like your website and your retail store in order to keep people coming back, of course. If you use warmer colors and nice-looking designs, then you can sway people into feeling warm and full of trust whenever they’re around you, for example.
4) Develop an original product or way of working
Obviously, this sounds like finding the magic formula in business. If you can do things efficiently while doing them differently from every other competitor, then you’re going to stand out in a very big way. Your competitors will also look to copy – such is the way of business. It doesn’t need to be a hugely significant change, however.
If you look at the way a lot of successful businesses operate, it’s not too dissimilar to their rivals – they simply just tweaked a small aspect. If you can think outside of the box and use a little bit of lateral thinking, then perhaps you can find something that makes you that little bit different and more refreshing. Your mind can come up with an awful lot of different ideas if you let it, so don’t be afraid to dedicate an afternoon to some of the weird thoughts in your head.
5) Provide simple means of contact (and be quick to respond)
If customers can get in touch with you, then they’re going to like you a lot more than if they cannot. By no means is it the most disgraceful thing in the world, but it’s very frustrating when you cannot contact a company that you’re doing any kind of business with.
If you have a problem, then you’re going to want to make sure you’ve let them know about it. Connecting with customers is more than just selling to them and making them happy – you need to ensure that you’ve got their backs when and if something happens going forward.
6) Provide added extras with your product or service
In order to make people remember or to provide a quick means of identifying what they need, people will often dish out their business cards or something similar. It’s a good idea to do this kind of thing as it is speedy and straight to the point. The same can be said about throwing product tags onto particular items. Discounts and loyalty schemes are also used for this kind of thing.
7) Be active online often
A lot of what we do in this day and age is online, so you’ll need to make sure you’re there in people’s eyesight most days. Online presence matters a lot and if you haven’t caught up with the 21st century yet, then you probably should. The right website, the right social media platforms, and the right software can get you far in people’s estimations.
8) Really relate to their situation
We’ve made this point before, but it’s important to be real and authentic. You cannot be fake in this or you’ll be found out. If you have a passion for the field you’re in and you really want to help others as you can relate to what they’re going through, then you’ll likely succeed. Make points and look to solve problems that need to be solved. Don’t just look for things that will make you money.
9) Optimize social media
Your online presence, of course, matters – as we’ve just pointed out. More specifically, however, you’ll need to be on social media. We talked about how it’s a speedy means of contact, but it’s also an excellent marketer. For free, you can get your messages out there to the masses and ensure that you’re doing it at the right time. Social media marketing has been proven to work wonders because there are millions and millions surfing on it.
10) Get your name out there wherever you can
Think about all of the jingles you know regarding businesses. Think about the funny ads and the catchphrases. They aren’t just for fun – they’re to get you to remember them. If you have the creativity and the money, then perhaps this could be something for you. There are even marketing agencies out there that focus on radio and TV ads.
11) Use email marketing
Email marketing is important because it reminds your customer base regularly and lets them feel valued. They’re not going to feel like part of the community if they’re left stranded all of the time.
It has been proven to work so well and it is used by pretty much every big business. It’s not intrusive but it does keep people informed via regular emails. If someone forgets about a particular item or sale, the email will keep them in the loop.
12) Make sure your customer service skills are excellent
People remember how you behave. So, you’ll need to ensure that you’re charismatic and friendly when you’re dealing with people that you’ll be working with. If you have staff on board, then make sure that you’re getting them to work with a smile and with a positive aura.
If you’re rude and negative, then they’ll remember that especially, so don’t put your reputation at risk. The idea that you did a good job but weren’t exactly the warmest can be a real put-off for many people. Word of mouth travels far and wide, so make sure you’re getting the best verbal review as it’s an astonishingly important marketing tool.
Photo by Tim Mossholder
