When attempting to give your business an edge, it can be easy to assume that you need to break the bank and make massive changes. However, this is not always the case. Thus, here are five simple tips to give your business an edge without doing too much permanent damage.
1. Be consistent with the quality of the product or service you provide
To give your business an edge, make sure that the product or service that you provide is of a high quality. Ensure that this quality is consistent across the board so that customers know that they can trust your brand to deliver what they expect every time.
2. Specialise rather than expand your range
Every year, there are more than 30,000 new products introduced into the market, and only 5% of them will last. To cut through the noise, it is therefore a lucrative idea to find an underserved niche that your competitors have ignored.
Instead of looking to expand how many products and services you offer, thus broadening your range, specialise in one particular product or service. Work on the process and the workflow until this is optimised, allowing you to become a business that offers high quality niche specialisms which no one else can.
3. Encourage employees to be creative and proactive
Remember that your employees are the core of your business, and the most valuable asset you have. Encourage your workforce to be creative and proactive, coming up with new ideas and suggesting areas of improvement.
In valuing your employees’ ideas, this will increase job satisfaction, as you are showing that you truly care about your workers and appreciate their innovation. This, in turn, will help to cultivate employee loyalty and a higher level of productivity.
4. Rethink your office space
With a serviced office from BE Offices, they look after everything for you, allowing you to focus on what you do best – running your business. All rent, rates, and utilities are included in your flexible all-inclusive monthly package, with extra pay-per-use services such as video conferencing, meeting rooms, and additional secretarial support available on demand.
Benefit from a fantastic business address and location, guaranteed 10GB internet, DDI handsets with voicemail, free telephone calls, personalised call answering, and even bean-to-cup coffee, fresh fruit, onsite gyms, and doughnuts. With locations across the UK, a serviced office from BE Offices is a cost-effective way to give your business an edge.
5. Focus on customer experience
It is said that ‘the customer is always right’. Whilst that may not necessarily always be the case, it is still a key aspect of business to find out what your customers want, and make sure to deliver it. This could be anything from customer services to how you implement your marketing processes, it could even be something more out there, such as speaking out on global issues.
For example, 83% of millennials want brands to align with them on values, and 76% want CEOs to speak out on issues they care about. In doing what it is your customer wants, you will improve customer experience, and give your business that edge that you desire.
And there you have it - simple tips to give your business an edge without doing too much permanent damage.
