Starting your own business? Start with this!
Be Yourself.
Stay true to yourself and offer products and services that you are passionate about. Never worry about putting your ideas out there. Customers will buy into your passion!
Create an experience.
Ensure your brand experience hits customers at every touch point both emotionally and aesthetically through shop decor, branding, promotional material, online presence and the service provided. Experience is what customers will remember regardless of the product range.
Become the expert.
Have an opinion, let your customers see that you are the expert voice behind all you sell. Use your website, social media, blogging, speaker events and editorial to share this passion and knowledge to encourage loyalty.
Give a reason for customers to re-visit.
Customers are not always looking to just shop, so become a destination visit for toher reasons–a cafe, workshops, third-party pop-ups, talks and guest speakers can all be great ways to drive additional traffic and spend.
Lifestyle.
Tap into a growing trend for lifestyle excursions and knowledge sharing. Word of mouth public relations can be very valuable.
Third parties.
Linking with complementary third parties can generate additional revenue opportunities for you both and encourage a cross-fertilization of new customers. Non-competitive synergistic links can help your brand reach entirely new customer audiences.
Talk to customers.
They are the secret to your success. Keep them engaged and encourage feedback. Insight can be very powerful.
Stay involved.
Ensure you are the figurehead behind your brand and have a physical presence in your store and online for customers to see and get to know.
Stay ahead of the curve.
Lead, don't follow. It is often all too easy to follow trends and piggyback on others' ideas. Drive your own destiny–customers will respect your individuality.
