You’ve come up with a great idea and you’re ready to get started. But before you rush into launching your brand new business, it’s important to have a carefully thought out plan in place. Make sure you have all of your bases covered before you open the doors for the first time, and you’ll be giving your enterprise the best possible chance of success.

Branding And Building Loyalty

Whatever industry you’re venturing into, there’s likely to be plenty of competition out there. Make sure your business stands out from the crowd by getting your branding right. Choosing a name is important, of course, but think about your logo and how it will look on the street. The ideal choice will be a bold, easy-to-read graphic in bright colors. It can be tempting to give your creativity free rein and add lots of design flourishes, but if you focus on keeping things clear and simple, you’ll likely have a better outcome.

Make sure your logo reflects the nature of your business, too. For example, if you plan on selling sporting goods or hiking gear, choose an earthy color palette with green tones. If your business is a funky beauty salon, choosing fashionable shades with a modern font will help you to attract the right customers.

Your social media presence is important, too. Make sure you create a varied mix of content, rather than simply promoting the products or services you provide. Include funny memes and videos, to keep followers coming back for more, and use these platforms to run contests or discounts. Producing engaging, shareable content should be your goal, as this will not only help you to build a loyal customer following, but will also introduce your brand to new potential customers – for free!

Get Smart About Marketing

In addition to an active social media presence, think about how you can get the best value from your marketing budget before you get started. This is one area where modern technology can really deliver cost-effective benefits, and it’s well worth investing in cloud-based software if you have a website or e-commerce element to your venture.

This software can analyze traffic to your website, giving you sophisticated insights into the kind of things that people want from your business. It can then help you to tailor your offering to deliver the right range, as well as understand where to direct advertising in order to connect with your target demographic.

Another ingenious piece of tech that can really drive results is digital signage. Whether you opt for an eye-catching video wall in-store, a digital menu board, or a portable digital street sign for the sidewalk outside, this equipment offers much more than first meets the eye. Digital signs deliver an incredible 400% more views than traditional posters, with an amazing 83% recall rate, making them a smart way to introduce people to your new brand.

Get creative with your digital signage to see the most impressive results: use it to display “today only” discounts to create buyer urgency, or run offers that reflect the stock items you need to sell fast. You can even display fun animations, interactive information about your store, or include a real-time stream of your socials. Link a QR code to encourage check-ins, and you’ll be on the way to getting coveted “Verified location” status in the search engines, helping to bring in yet more new customers. With self serve digital signage software you can update your signs with just a few clicks, making it a flexible tool that really delivers a superb customer experience.

Put The Customer First

It may be a trueism, but it’s absolutely essential that the customer always comes first. That means focusing on delivering a great, personalized experience both in-store and online. By paying attention to what your customers want, and engaging with customers on your social media accounts, you can ensure that each an every customer feels valued, helping to build the brand loyalty that is critical to long-term success.

If you employ staff, make sure they uphold your values, especially if they wear your uniform when outside of your premises, and keep striving to find ways to make your service better or faster. After all, the happier a customer is, the better they feel about spending, and even recommending your business to their friends and family.