As a small business, you are going to face plenty of obstacles. One of the obstacles you don’t need in your way is appearing as a ‘small business’. The mom’n’pop store appeal works for some, but not for all. If your eyes are aimed at a bigger future, you need to be moving toward it now. Think about the business you want to be, not the business that you are right now.
The face of the business
Regardless of where your business is situated, nowadays the website serves as the public face of the business. If your site is poorly designed with generic imagery and little content, it’s going to reveal the small operation behind it. Invest in your site, populating it with compelling content and a sharp image. This is doubly true if you’re starting an ecommerce business. You need to implement the tools the bigger businesses use, from live support when available to breadcrumb navigation to keep buyers informed of their purchasing process.
Know your story
Big businesses don’t just market a product. They market what a product and, in turn, what they stand for. They boil down the value of a product to its emotional value, creating a narrative of how the product can impact someone’s life. Similarly, they have a story for the business as well. Tech companies will create a story of innovation and young minds breaking the barriers of the past. Food companies might create a story of love and dedication to the craft that goes into creating masterworks. Finding your product story and your brand story can give your business the finish it needs.
Brand impact
That same kind of care needs to go into the impact of your products themselves. You need yours to stand out, to jump off the shelves at consumers. This means getting more creative and branding with your packaging and the other visual elements of the product itself. If you’re using pouch packaging, then get it designed bespoke for the business rather than using blank packaging. If your product itself has no branding visual like a logo on it, make sure it has your stamp in future. Don’t let your products be generic.
Get the community involved
Where you can possibly get people talking about your business and product and contributing to the buzz, then you should make use of them. Get involved with your online community, engaging them and promoting their growth. Take your business to trade shows, making an appearance amongst the others in the industry. Send freebies to influencers like bloggers and Youtubers so they can review your product and give it more exposure to their online fan base. Collaborate with other businesses to give your product a signal boost.
Image isn’t everything of course. You have to make sure you can walk the walk as well as talk the talk or the image will fall flat. But the right image can give you the room to do that without all the assumptions of running an amateur operation that small businesses can get.
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