Whatever business you’re involved in, whether it’s a brick and mortar shop or an online virtual store, we bet you that there are a thousand more businesses just like yours. In an environment where the only rule is survival of the fittest; and the atmosphere is where individuals are jockeying for position for every square inch of the market, there is always that pressing need to identify what separates you from the rest of the pack.  You’ve got to prove that you’re a cut above the rest!

Adapt a Selling Mindset

Any successful sales person will tell you that products sell because of benefits. All products have their own selling points; but without any clear-cut value-add, it’s assured that they’ll only gather dust on a shelf.  It’s the exact same thing for your business.

In adapting a selling mindset, there are three acronyms that you should always remember: F.A.B.; Features, Advantages, and Benefits.  The old sales adage goes, “features tell, benefits sell.”  Features tell your customers what you do; benefits, on the other hand, tell your customers what’s in it for them. Don’t make a mistake of sticking with your product’s features

Always make sure that it’s explicitly known how your product or service will benefit your customers. Instead of telling your customers that you “provide human resource consultancy services,” you can add benefits into the mix by telling them that your company “provides human resource consultancy services to ensure employee productivity, maximize workforce potential, and increase organizational performance.”

Create your own Identity

Given the plethora of similar products and services, you’ve got to be creative in crafting your own identity. Even the biggest and universally known brand names spend millions of dollars a year just to make sure that they are known and their presence felt.

In establishing your own identity, it is not necessary to spend lots of money doing so. You can just start out with small things. Maybe you can reconsider the packaging or the design of your product to look more of a ‘winner.’ You might also want to rethink your company logo or your website/blog to better appeal to your target market. Think of the ‘Swoosh,’ the sexy-curved bottle, or the Prancing Horse, and you’ll get what I mean.

Use Numbers to your advantage

Another way to catch attention is to provide the numbers . Treat your business like it is publicly traded. Share how many satisfied customers you’ve had or how many customers have actually been helped by your product. Remember that “Burgers Served…6B” sign? It tells the customers that business is good.

Update, update, update

If your business has a website/blog, a Twitter, or a Facebook account ; always make sure that content is updated; ideally, on a daily basis. No one wants to follow a  “dead stick.” No website or social media updates equate to customers assuming your business already went belly-up. Furthermore, when updating, make sure to come up with very interesting content as well; craft something that will get your readers to buy your product and service.

Consistently get Feedback

Nothing beats feedback from a customer; whether good or bad. Feedback gives you a real feel of how your business is viewed by the people whom you aim to please.  You can personally do an after sales call to the customer after a few days to find out how he or she finds the product. You can also send out a customer satisfaction email once a sale has been made. These practices, might take you a little bit of time at the start, but will give you long term benefits, especially in product and service improvement department.