As a woman with a small business, you’re up against tough competitors like national corporations and franchises. While these big businesses may be able to offer lower prices, more services, and more robust online tools, you have the advantage of personalized customer service and knowledge of your local community. Furthermore, there are several smart business strategies that you can follow to find success. With that in mind, here’s how to make the most of your small businesses advantages and capture customers from your competition.
Optimize Your Website
Today, every business needs an amazing website. If your site is unattractive, your website visitors may decide to go elsewhere. It’s also important that your visitors can navigate the site effortlessly and proceed through your checkout or scheduling process without a hiccup; if they experience any problems along the way, you risk losing them forever. This is why it’s crucial to hire a professional web designer. These professionals know how to make sites attractive, intuitive, and engaging, so you can hold onto as many site visitors as possible. According to Upwork, it’s important to find a web designer who has a solid understanding of web fundamentals and platforms such as Joomla or Wordpress, as well as plenty of experience collaborating with developers and writers.
Websites can cost a lot of money, so it’s important to budget for this in your business startup costs. Since women entrepreneurs often struggle to access the same funding opportunities as male business owners, crowdfunding may be a realistic alternative to traditional business loans. In fact, women-owned businesses tend to have a higher crowdfunding success rate!
Tell a Story
Whether you’re selling common products and services or something completely unique, storytelling can help set your brand apart from your competition. According to Inc, storytelling is an effective way for brands to connect with their customers. Women entrepreneurs can use storytelling to establish expertise in their industry, give their brand a unique personality, and forge an emotional connection with their customers. For example, many women have found success by intentionally building their company around a culture of empowerment and autonomy. This resonates with customers who share similar beliefs and values.
A good story will be relatable to your customers and leave them with a clear lesson or outcome they can learn from. You can incorporate your brand story into your website copy, marketing campaigns, social media posts, blogs, and more. You may even be able to use your story to influence investors or train new employees.
Talk to Your Customers
Your customers can give you essential insights into what you’re doing right and what needs to change. For example, they will tell you what they like about your business model and whether your customer service department is up to par. Use Google Alerts to receive notifications when your brand is mentioned online. That way, you can stay up to date on everything people are saying about your company on social media or internet forums. Don’t just apologize to complaints; instead, listen and implement the changes your customers suggest.
For women starting a business in a male-dominated industry, collecting customer feedback can help these entrepreneurs learn how to better meet the needs of their audience. To get feedback from your customers, Neil Patel recommends using short surveys with just a few key questions. Remember, open-ended questions are ideal for uncovering what your customers really think.
Prioritize Customer Service
Personalized customer service is one of the strongest cards you have to play against your major competitors. Big brands just don’t have the bandwidth to offer individualized support to each one of their customers. This means they often use impersonal chatbots and scripted responses to talk to customers — an approach that will cost them in the long run. Putting effort into your customer support strategy is an effective way to grow your business. As a small business owner, you have a unique opportunity to connect with customers on a personal level. Reply to your customers quickly, offer concrete solutions to their problems, and let them know you care. Fortunately, women often excel at exercising patience and empathizing with their customers.
As a passionate business owner, you’re always looking for ways to grow your business and get ahead of competitors. Countless women entrepreneurs get it right by capitalizing on their small business strengths, connecting with customers and offering a level of care unmatched by their major competitors. Lead your business into success with a similar focus on your customer.
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