Being different

What is your USP, your Unique Selling Proposition? In what way are you different to all the other competing businesses around you?

One strategy of being unique is often met with a lot of resistance, particularly from people who are still in the initial stages of trying to get their business to grow.

Niching down.

Rather than saying “I can do copywriting/massages/catering etc. for ANYONE”, focus on a very specific industry or audience – and become the expert in that field.

It’s easy to see the problems here – I can’t afford to turn down clients! I don’t want to limit myself! But I CAN do it well for other industries too!

So instead, I’d like to point out some benefits.

Michael E Stern

Michael E Stern is a photographer/videographer who specializes in – wait for it – time-lapse construction videos. He’ll set his cameras up on the construction site and film the progress over time, putting it together to tell a beautiful story.

If that’s not an ultra-specific niche, I don’t know what it.

Michael Stern has become known as the expert in this industry. Anyone who wants this specific type of video – the construction company, the developers who may want to sell the final result, municipalities, those who commissioned the project etc. – knows that if they want someone who knows what they’re doing, it’s Michael.

And they’re prepared to pay more, because they know they are getting more.

How can you become an expert in a particular field?

If you are an expert in providing your service in a particular industry, you can charge significantly more. By expert, I don’t mean that you like to do something specific. I mean that you’ve studied, practiced, researched and worked hard in that specific niche until you truly are an expert.

For example, you can’t claim to specialise in creating websites for construction companies until you’ve actually created a few website, and studied the ins and outs of that industry in detail.

How do I choose a niche?

You could develop a niche through further studies in something that interests you, or you could apply something from your personal history.

For example, if you’re a copywriter with an MA in biochemistry, then when you write about complex topics in this field it is clear that you yourself understand what you’re writing about, and the finished result is so much better.

Or, if you’re a photographer who used to volunteer at a summer camp for special needs kids then you could use that to specialize in photographing children with special needs.

And people who want that specific offer will be willing to pay that much more to get it from you. Your services will be more valuable to them, you will be more sought after, and you will be justified in charging significantly more.

Something to think about.

Have you niched down?

So, on to your business. Are you a generalist, a specialist, or some combination? Please share any comments, questions and insights!

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Many people get this wrong, but those that understand it and adjust their systems accordingly usually experience a far greater success – regardless of what their products/services on offer are.

So, what is the most important part of your business?

Your customers. Without them, you’re out of business.

Your Customers Are Important!
There are two main takeaways from this:

Customer Service
Your customer service has to be amazing. Show them how important they are to you, how much you care that they should be happy with your service, and that you’re willing to go above and beyond to ensure their satisfaction.

Wouldn’t you prefer to stick with a brand that treats you like royalty, over one that treats you like dirt? We’ve all been inside a shop where the attendant groaned when we walked in, tried to pretend they didn’t hear when you asked for help, and rolled their eyes are every question. Most of us would walk right out.

Ask your Customers
It’s up to you to find out what your customers are thinking. Are they delighted with your service, or do they wish you had a home delivery option? Is there another feature they wished you offer? Do they appreciate those extra touches that you spend so long on, or would they prefer the product without it?

After all, if you want to be providing your customers with the best possible service, you have to find out what they truly want. It’s incredible how many people assume their customers value one thing, when really it’s something else that they’d really like.

If you don’t ask, you won’t find out.

What are you doing to create the best customer experience possible? Is this an area you’ve worked on, or are you struggling to find ways to improve? Share your thoughts, insights and questions!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Business+ group where we discuss ideas that can take your business to the next level. Feel free to ask questions, share what has or hasn’t worked for you, and contribute to the discussions.

I’ll be posting on different topics to do with setting up, marketing or growing your business. Please join in the discussions (or start your own!) with any comments, insights or questions.

@SKGraphics
Great question

I must say though, I don’t agree with your statement that: “the customer will anyways only judge me by the end result-the ad he gets”

I’m pretty sure your client will care about deadlines, especially if they have to submit their ad by a certain time. If you are super strict about deadlines and leave plenty of time for any revisions, clients will appreciate that and return to you over someone else who takes their time.

When it comes to customer experience (CX for short), it’s not just about how you deliver the final product or service. It’s about the entire process, from start to finish.

Go through your whole graphic creation process from the point of view of the client and identify any potential pain points, or ways to improve. Could you eliminate a lot of the back-and-forth with a customised questionnaire, for instance?

Show your client that you care about their bigger picture. They don’t just want an ad, they want to raise awareness of their brand and bring in sales. Take the time to get to know their business, explaining that you want their graphic to be an ‘ambassador’ for their company, reflecting its values and uniqueness. This alone will bring you return business from clients who prefer to work with someone who already has an understanding of their business and ‘gets’ them.

(I should mention here the importance of taking notes on all your clients, and checking them again whenever they come back for further work. This way you won’t forget any important preferences or other details and they want you to remember.)

These are just a few starting points for you to consider. Remember, if you find yourself saying, “but nobody else in my field does this”, that makes it the perfect opportunity for you to be setting yourself apart.

Hatzlachah!

Hello,
I have a couple of suggestions:

Can we open a topic for business owners, which will be useful for anyone who freelances or has their own business - in any industry? It could discuss marketing, useful tool and tech, how to hire the right person, how to scale your business, what to keep in mind when designing your website etc - there are a whole range of topics within this.

Also, how about a topic about career - also for any industry - where people can discuss resumes, interviews, asking for raises etc?

And a topic for digital marketing would be great, too.

Thanks!

Worked for me, I adjusted the timings of the keyframes to make space for four. I reduced the transition times from 8.3% to 5% to make the maths simpler so it may be a little faster, although I guess you can change the duration of the whole thing.
I added just one paragraph (with a new class of item-4) but you could add more. From a UX point of view I’d stay with less, as there is no arrow for them to speed it up or slow it down and it can be frustrating.

Here is my CSS:

@import url(https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:600);

body {
font-family: ‘Open Sans’, ‘sans-serif’;
color: #cecece;
background: #222;
overflow: hidden;
}

.item-1,
.item-2,
.item-3,
.item-4{
position: absolute;
display: block;
top: 2em;

width: 60%;

font-size: 2em;

animation-duration: 20s;
animation-timing-function: ease-in-out;
animation-iteration-count: infinite;

}

.item-1{
animation-name: anim-1;
}

.item-2{
animation-name: anim-2;
}

.item-3{
animation-name: anim-3;
}

.item-4{
animation-name: anim-4;
}

@keyframes anim-1 {
0%, 5% { left: -100%; opacity: 0; }
5%,20% { left: 25%; opacity: 1; }
25%, 100% { left: 110%; opacity: 0; }
}

@keyframes anim-2 {
0%, 25% { left: -100%; opacity: 0; }
30%, 45% { left: 25%; opacity: 1; }
50%, 100% { left: 110%; opacity: 0; }
}

@keyframes anim-3 {
0%, 50% { left: -100%; opacity: 0; }
55%, 70% { left: 25%; opacity: 1; }
75%, 100% { left: 110%; opacity: 0; }
}

@keyframes anim-4 {
0%, 75% { left: -100%; opacity: 0; }
80%, 95% { left: 25%; opacity: 1; }
100% { left: 110%; opacity: 0; }
}

@Volvo I’m happy you enjoyed my first article!

Congratulations on starting your own business, I wish you much hatzlacha!

As you say, it is very common to just keep going the way you always have, and wonder why your business isn’t growing the way you want it to. There are so many points to consider carefully that many don’t even think about.

Feel free to start your own discussion here with any questions or topics you’re wondering about - I’m sure plenty of people on this forum will have a lot to share!

Hi, I’m looking for someone experienced in ecommerce SEO for a few hours of work with potential for some more work down the line. Preferably living in Israel. Experience with Shopify and/or WordPress preferred.

Oh, I get it now.
The problem is that the items are all position absolute so they don’t ‘take up space’ on the page. I would just put this whole code in a plain div and give that div a specific height eg 250px. You can use @media if you need it to change for different screen sizes. Then the next paragraph would start below the div.
There may be a more elegant solution, but I know this works
Hatzlacha!

Agreed!