Perception Is Everything

How to build a positive business: 

From the first moment a customer enters your store, goes to your Website, accesses your Social Media channels or gets you on the phone, they are entering into your domain -Your business. The business you spent a lot of your time and money to develop and open. So think before you open your new business not only what you want your customer to experience; but also,  how you want to perceived and remembered.

We are talking about building a culture within your business that feels “good”. A business where people who both work and shop in your business really “like” your business. They talk about it to their friends, they refer your business to their associates and they come back to your business to buy from you again and again. There are companies who literally spend millions of dollars on advertising trying to attract and win these customers. On the other hand, there are other companies that don’t spend a dime on marketing because their loyal customers do their marketing for them. Creating a culture of this nature is a business opportunity that should not be overlooked. I can honestly say that I feel most businesses today are failing when it comes to creating a positive customer experience.

Learn to objectively look at your business through your customer’s eyes. It really doesn’t matter what your Website looks like or how attractive the interior of your store you think you may have if people are not buying your product and/or service.

• The first step in creating a positive perception of your business is getting to know who you are selling to and what they are looking for. They are your target market so it is vital to your success to determine who your target market is. I will give you an example. Let’s assume you want to open and operate an ethnic grocery store that caters to several ethnic palates. While you might think that most people will remember your store for its unique list of products that it carries, your ability to create a more personalized shopping experience is just as important. They will remember your store if you took the time to show them the products they love and by getting to know them. By building a customer‑centered business, customers will seek you out and might possibly pay more for your products because of it.
• The second step is to hire great people. Train them to interact with your customers in the way that you wish to be perceived. It has been proven that a positive environment leads to dramatic benefits to a business’ bottom line. Happy staff translates to happy customers and growth in revenues.

As a boss, you have a huge impact on how your employees feel in your business. Know your employees and find out what motivates them. For example, if he or she only wants to work during the week, why would you put them on the schedule to work a weekend day?  Deal with toxic people. It happens and you, unfortunately, will hire a person with a negative attitude. So many businesses hang on to these people but it saps the energy in your store and it brings everyone – your customers and your staff – “down”. Get rid of them.

By creating a positive perception, your business will be successful.

It costs 7 times the amount of money to acquire a new customer than it costs to retain an existing customer, so look after your customers and your staff and you will create a great business.