How to Make Your Business Stand Out

How to Make Your Business Stand Out

If you own a pizza business, the last thing you want is for people in your town to say “Let’s get pizza, but I don’t really care where we get it from.” This type of reaction could mean the end of your business because it means that the local customers don’t find any difference between you and your competitors. For a small pizza business, what you want is for the local population to demand YOUR pizza when they want pizza.

In order to earn this type of reaction, you need to make your business stand out. Although this may sound hard, there are some very specific types of actions you can take to achieve this goal.

1. Provide excellence in your product. Excellence does not mean perfection and it doesn't always mean highest quality. What it means is that you do something special that ensures people prefer your product to your competitors. Using the pizza shop example, this may mean you make your own sauce or it could mean you sell a deep dish pizza that other shops don’t
2. Provide superior customer service. Your customers are your bread and butter – or garlic bread and butter for a pizza shop! You should work to build relationships with customers by showing them how much they are appreciated. You can do this by listening to their concerns, meeting their needs and going a little bit above and beyond normal expectations. This may mean that first time customers get an extra 10% off coupon for the next order. Or it could mean that you provide something extra every fifth order.
3. Reach Out To Customers. People in your community need to know that you are taking the extra time and effort to reach out to them. Build up a social network presence on Facebook, support a local little league time or get involved in community charities. This not only shows the community that you care about them and their needs, but that you also take the time to communicate with them directly.
4. Do something different. Many people can provide pizza, but most don’t always provide the extras that draw people in. This could be anything from specialty sodas, locally crafted beers, weekly prize drawings, free doggie biscuits for pet owners, or a kid’s area with games and toys. These types of differentiation strategies can help people select your business over others.
5. Market Locally. Anyone can place an ad in the local paper, but you need something more than that. You need something that will make people stop and look. You need something that will catch their eye even when they’re in a hurry to get somewhere else.
   
   Neon signs meet this need. Neon signs, especially when advertising that niche need that you meet or when showcasing your brand, are great tools because they are easily seen both during the day and during the night. They are colorful, fun and nostalgic and can be specially crafted to meet your specific marketing requirements.  

How to Differentiate Your Business from Your Competitor

In today’s world, differentiation is often difficult. This is especially true if you are selling products or services that are similar to the products or services being sold by your competitors. As a small business owner in a market with tight competition, you need to ask yourself: “What would cause people in my market to buy from me instead of the other shops?”

Certainly, you have to look at the level of service being offered. You also have to look at quality of the product or service. These are great activities that are designed to keep customers coming back in. But to entice new customers to walk into your door and select your shop, you need to show people you are different from the competitor before they even walk in your door!

Proven Differentiation Tactics

Two of the primary differentiation tactics to attract new customers is by using signage and by branding your name. Signage could be anything that promotes a product, service or your business. It could be a 50% off sale sign. It could be your business name above the door. It could even be a large-scale menu in your front window. Basically, signage is external advertising that is designed to bring people inside.

The best way to know if your signage works is to simply go outside and look at it. If you are not drawn to your business by glancing at your signs, it may be time to rethink your tactics. Your signs should be eye-catching enough that it makes a passerby give your signs their full attention.

Secondly, you need to boldly brand your name in a manner that makes you look successful. If your business name is “Carol’s House of Beauty”, you had better make sure that people who pass by can clearly see that this is your business and be impressed at the same time.

Not only does it help when people are trying to find your business, it helps make your business name one that’s well known and well thought of even by people who have never frequented your shop. As a local business with an impressive business sign, potential customers are more likely to call you when they need something simply because they already know your name.

How Neon Signs can differentiate you!

Neon signs may be one of the oldest methods of advertisement in the modern age, but the reason is simple: they work! By adding a neon sign (or two or three), you are using a unique, eye-catching and cost-effective method of making sure potential customers know that you in business and ready to serve their needs right now.

Unlike conventional signs, they are always easy to see and they always attract attention. These signs can be created to your specifications and can contain your name, your mascot, specialized products that you offer or even just a simple open sign. These signs provide differentiation at a time when differentiation is difficult. Your business stands out and your business name gets remembered.  

Make a Good First Impression

In many cases the appeal of your business sign is what brings a customer in through your doors, and obviously, it is always the first thing that they see. You may be thinking that it’s your services that they’re looking for that brings them in, however, what distinguishes you from your competitors that offer the same things? Your sign. Professionally it is always important to make a good first impression, and that stands for your business as well. 

Have you ever seen a handwritten sign in a store window? I hope not, because it communicates disorganization, lack of planning and un-professionalism. Sure, it also communicates that “you have a sale going on”… but the unintended messages often stick with the person longer than the primary message.Your business sign is the first impression you give your customers, and it will be the basis of their opinion of your business. An effective business neon sign will capture their attention, provide information and show that you are professional and trustworthy. In a tough economy, where advertising budgets are cut to the bone, that first impression is more important than ever.

The Small Business Association has observed that business signs are the most cost-effective – highest value – form of advertisement for a small business. While spending less money on signs than on TV, newspaper or magazine ads, signs will have a more direct impact on increased sales and awareness. Studies have shown that placing just one sign outside of your business can increase sales by 30%! Those are staggering numbers that show just how important business signs can be.Providing an illuminated sign, that is professionally designed and will be viewed hundreds, or thousands of times per day may be the most important advertising dollars spent.