I remember the first day I really launched my company. It was the moment I knew that the purpose of my business aligned with my ideal clients, my logo, and the company name, and most importantly, its differentiated message. The hardest thing for an entrepreneur to do is gain audacious clarity on the target segments and the powerful messaging that helps their business break through the noise and connect with clients. The thing is – if you want to accelerate your growth and be relevant to your target clients – the messaging must connect with the hearts and minds of your customers. Here are five steps you can take to accelerate the launch and growth of your business. 1. If You Don’t Stand Out, You Won’t Get In If you cannot explain to a client why you are different and what is unique about you, then you are setting yourself up to fail. Sometimes it seems like this is impossible, but remember, you are the total of all of your experiences. So how you think, the examples you share, the story behind your business, can help you stand out in a unique way. 2. Get the Basics Right When working with clients, we start with understanding the basic offerings and what is included. What is that they offer and how do they stack against competitors. In reality, there are specific things customers are looking for your business to do, for example, if you are an accounting firm, then you should be able to at least manage the books and file taxes. 3. Do You Create and Add Value? If we continue with the CPA firm example, although some accounting firms do not get the basics right, let’s presume most of them do. So to stand out and begin to differentiate yourself, this is where adding value comes into play. Where do you stand out? Is everything online, do you have assigned managers for each client, do you send reminders via email and a phone call for your clients? What do you do that makes life for your client easier and remarkable? One way to assess this is to map your customer journey. Outline all of the customer touchpoints and see where you want to over deliver or meet expectations based on your value add strategy. 4. Are You Connecting with the Heart? As we talk about differentiation and accelerating your business’ growth, do not underestimate the power of the heart when it comes to decision making. Prospects and clients make decisions based on how a business speaks to them on an emotional level. For example, if I hire a CPA, and I trust they will manage my taxes effectively, this is a huge stress relief and takes the weight of the process off of my shoulders. In addition, if my CPA reaches out to me proactively before things happen, I feel like they are my advocate and ally, not just someone I hired. 5. Create Relationships, Not Transactions For prospects and clients, build relationships not just transactions. People want to believe foremost that you have their interests at heart and care about their success and wellbeing. Although it is hard, you have to care about your clients business as if it were your own. It can be hard to remember, because you are of course focused on growing your own business too. We can get distracted by our own challenges as entrepreneurs. A great practice is to communicate, communicate, and communicate with your clients to stay present and engaged. Be a Noisebreaker, |
