Does your small business stand out from the competition?
It's a familiar, disheartening scene for small business owners who are trying to market their businesses:
You're in a room full of people, doing the networking thing. You meet a bunch of people, handing out piles of cards. And then, the next morning, you wake up and wait for the phone to start ringing with new business. Why aren't they calling?
You meet with a client, and everything goes great. They ask all the right questions, and they seem to like your answers, so they ask you for a proposal. You deliver your proposal document, but they never call you back. Or, they do call back, but only to let you know that they decided to "go with someone else". What happened?
Or, you know you're getting lots of visits to your website, but you're not getting any new clients that way — you still have to go out and network, network, network. Isn't that why you have a website in the first place — to bring in clients?
Does it have to be this hard?
You're just out there trying to pick up a handful of clients to keep your business thriving. You know you've got a great product or service, and you can certainly deliver.
It's just the issue of getting clients to come in the door. Marketing and making sales is a frustrating process for most small business owners — when all you just want is to create your product or perform your service and do your business!
And, all the while, it just seems like your competitors are snapping up your potential clients. Wouldn't it be nice if the clients flowed to you instead?
Competition is tough for small businesses.
Competition throws a couple of big challenges at small businesses:
First of all, your competition is big. Almost unfathomably big. There's your direct competitors — the people who do exactly what you do in your geographical area. Then, there's people who do what you do all over the world. Finally, there's all the people who sell similar services or products that fill your clients needs. And, don't even get me started about inaction — just deciding not to hire anyone after all!
Then, there's the problem of trying to stay on top of how they're marketing, and what they're doing in their businesses. What their logos look like. What their websites look like. How your designs stack up against your current competitors'. How they will look against the designs that your future competition — companies that haven't even started up yet — will create?
How can you stay ahead of the competition and stand out?
The key to making sure that your small business stands out is to stop looking at the competition.
That's right. Stop comparing yourself to them! That's what most small businesses are doing — just trying to say or do something — anything! — to make themselves look different than their competition.
Marketing your business by looking at what the competition's doing doesn't work because it's reactionary instead of based in your true talent.
Of course, you do have to be informed about what the competition's doing. But, from there, you have to create your own designs and marketing based on what your business really stands for.
Instead, look inward — at your own business.
You should start designing your materials not with your designs, but by defining your brand and your business. Once you really know what your business is all about, you can then create designs that speak to that and will really make you shine.
A small business should look at 4 things: Who You Are, What You Do, What Makes You Different, and Who You Can Best Help.
But, how do you define your brand? And then design eye-catching materials that will make you stand out?
That's where this site can help. Browse through the free info section for articles and information on creating graphics that stand out.
If you like what you see there, I recommend signing up for my newsletter. Every other week, you'll get a new article full of information you can use on creating graphics that make your business shine.
You also get a copy of the Define Your Difference Branding Worksheet. This worksheet is a free excerpt of my full Define Your Difference Branding Workbook, and it walks you through the process of defining your brand. This worksheet asks you some in-depth questions about your business's personality, your services, your competition, and your marketing to get you on the path to creating a brand that will help you figure out what you want your business's brand to say to your target audience, so that you can stand out.
Once you've defined your brand, you still have to create your marketing materials. So, the workbook comes paired with a bonus ebook called Branding Basics that talks about the 5 steps to branding your small business — the process that you should go through to create a brand that catches your prospects' attention. This eBook explains each of the 5 steps in great detail. Those steps are:
1. Define Who You Are, What You Do, What Makes You Different, Your Target Audience and Your Business's Personality
2. Design Your Logo and Brand Identity To Communicate Your Brand Definition
3. Develop Your Website and Marketing Communications Collateral
4. Distinguish Your Business from the Crowd
5. Direct Your New Brand So That it Can Reach Its Fullest Potential
If you address all 5 of these steps when you create your Brand Identity and marketing designs, you'll create a professional brand for your business that will make it easy for you to build credibility for your small business. A professional brand identity communicates your company's purpose and promises, increases your memorability and drives sales.
Get the free eBook and workbook right away!
In fact, I want to make it easy for you to get the free eBook and Workbook — just fill out the form below to subscribe to my newsletter, and you'll get the eBook and Workbook by return email!
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Get my free report, Branding Basics for Small Business Success, and learn how to build a brand that will create real results for your business.
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