Assuming you’ve made it past the infancy of your company and are now on solid ground, you may be looking to really turn it up a notch and bring things further. There are a few things you can do to separate yourself from the pack, including mastering social media, bringing the press to you with corporate event planning ideas, and excelling at customer service are just a few ways you can make a name for your brand.
Expertly Use Social Media
A social media presence has become a major part in most businesses these days, but doing it well can be more difficult as it seems. Plenty of times, there have been brands that slipped up on Twitter or Facebook and the backlash has been resounding. Regardless of the risk of working in the social media space, it is a vital tool that can connect you with your customers in a way that was unseen just a short time ago. Having a dedicated team that can cultivate a strong social media personality for the brand can help you gain an advantage over your competitors.
Bring the Press to You
Getting a positive write-up by a journalist can really be a boost for your company. Although you can’t control what they have to say, you can do your part to help attract their attention. When Steve Jobs started doing yearly keynotes for Apple, it put the company on another level and while you might not exactly have that sort of budget, inviting the press to a product launch event will get you exposure you wouldn’t imagine. Corporate event planning companies can help you kick off an event that gets everyone talking.
Get Noticed in the Community
If you’re concentrating on your local profile, helping out in the community can garner your brand a lot of good will. Sponsoring local events like charity drives can get your brand noticed and can help bring in some loyal consumers. Spearheading initiatives like energy conservation or recycling can spread the word of how much you care about the community and the environment.
Excel at Customer Service
Big companies have a lot of advantages over smaller companies, but one way you can excel that evens the score is how well you work with your customers. Being responsive to customer questions and working with them to solve problems in a quick manner is a great way to ensure that you’ve gained a repeat customer. Part of good customer service is being easily accessible. While you may not have the resources to have your phones manned all day and all night, having a variety of ways to communicate with your customer can make them feel like they can talk to you easily. Using social media to answer questions and solve problems is a good way, but you can also set up a live chat function on your website that can work just as well as a phone conversation.
Form Strong Working Relationships with Vendors
Relationships are a major part of business and the ones you share with your vendors can make or break your company. It’s important that you can trust those that you rely on to make your product; when you find one that meets your needs, giving them continuous business can strengthen the bond and help you in the future.
Business is all about offering something that your competitors can’t. Whatever it is that makes you unique, it’s important to take full advantage of that.
Jim has worked in the corporate world for the past ten years. Recently, he started his own business in Palo Alto.
