Peer to Peer: Client relationships are key to differentiating your business from the competition

The success of any business is dependent on many factors. To establish a positive reputation and create longevity and continued loyalty amongst your clientele, you’ll need to do the following:

Know your customer. Identify and know your target market. Get to know them and take pride in understanding who they are and what they want from your business. Establishing relationships is what makes them return.

Find your niche. The spa industry is competitive, but because we bring an international cultural experience within a spa environment, we occupy a very unique niche. Find your niche, and if it doesn’t exist, create it.

Simplify. As consumers, we have so many choices and options everywhere we go. When clients visit us, they want to escape the everyday, so we create that experience for them. Whatever your business may be, provide products or services that add to people’s lives rather than require them to do more work.

Offer superior customer service. Always ensure that your clients feel welcome. An easy way to do this is with a warm greeting the moment they walk in the door and a sincere thank you and goodbye when they leave. It’s so simple, but it will elevate your company to the next level and help establish relationships and loyalty with your client base.

The best piece of advice I can give is to love what you do, and success will follow.

If you’re thinking about venturing into an already saturated market, you have to bring a new twist to the game. The key is to do your research in order to learn about your competition from the inside out. Who are they? Where are they? What exactly do they offer and how much market are they currently eating up? It’s equally important to know their culture, social media personality and the overall vibe of the business so you can see how their audiences respond.

One of the best ways to get to know your industry is to immerse yourself in it. Try your competitors’ products and services, take notes on what you loved and what you didn’t, then work this knowledge into your own business plan. This is key for bringing something new and valuable to the game so you don’t just copy what everyone else is doing. See what’s missing and fill that need.

Once you find your niche, remember to be flexible. Often a business evolves organically, especially in the beginning. Although your direction needs strict guidance, it also needs a little freedom to blossom into its unique self. Be open to all possibilities by paying attention and listening to feedback, then adjust accordingly. Don’t force your initial concept if things start to morph in a different direction.

Finally, hire carefully. Even if your business plan is a perfect 10, if you don’t have a team that’s passionate about the company they work for, you have nothing. Customer service and experience is key, and your staff are the ones who create that for you.

With the local real estate market busier than ever, the number of realtors from which prospective clients can hire has never been greater. A simple and effective way to stand out is to promote yourself through social media. Sellers and buyers have never been more involved in the goings-on of the real estate market – a result of the ease with which they can research the market online. But many realtors have not been able to adapt to social media and therefore become invisible when these prospective sellers and buyers are trying to seek out a realtor. By engaging with the online community, you are essentially putting up your resumé, allowing people to get to know you before choosing to hire you.

Not only is it important to publish material on social media, but it’s also key to make sure that your material is top-notch. It’s important to realize that your services are your brand, and any effective advertising needs to promote that brand. This means hiring a professional photographer and marketing your current listings in an enticing way. If prospective clients like the way you market yourself online, they will be more likely to hire you to market their own property. This same philosophy can be extended to any product or service – it’s all about the details.

Once you’ve effectively gained clients from your branding, it becomes even more crucial to make sure that your level of customer service exceeds their expectations. Your brand doesn’t end with your marketing, so make sure you tailor your services to each client’s needs. After a successful transaction, keep your realtor-client relationship intact by creating reward and loyalty programs, and by offering incentives like giveaways to remind the client that hiring you was the best choice.