7 tips for growing a business that will stand out in the crowd

Americans appreciate entrepreneurs.

A recent survey by the Better Business Bureau found that 84% of consumers trust small businesses more than large businesses. Respondents believed that supporting local businesses was important and perceived that small businesses were more convenient, offered better customer service, and sold more unique products than big companies.

Additionally, smaller enterprises are trusted for their integrity, friendly service, good reputations, and the fact that they are often run by local people.

Small businesses are well-liked but sometimes face challenges in differentiating themselves from larger companies, which can leverage their big brand identities to command large shares of the market.

Forbes offers 7 ways to make your business stand out in a crowd of competitors. Here’s a quick overview:

1. Provide legendary customer service: Treat your customers like royalty. Customers have high expectations of great service, and it’s important for business owners to recognize the loyalty-generating power of remarkable customer support.
2. Admit mistakes and fix problems to grow stronger relationships: Customers equate their experience with a brand. Part of providing exemplary customer service is owning up to mistakes and committing to fixing problems. In fact, a customer relationship may even be strengthened through the resolution of a well-handled customer problem.
3. Be honest about your products and services: Honesty should always be a top priority, even if you may have bad news for a customer. Whether your need to push back a delivery date or one of your employees made an error, be proactive and keep your customers in the know. Trust is key to developing and maintaining strong customer relationships.
4. Come up with something new: Evolve your company by adopting emerging technologies and introducing new processes, products, and solutions. Unique ideas can make a lasting impression and help your brand stand out in the crowd.
5. Embrace corporate social responsibility: Businesses should give back. Corporate social responsibility programs can help society while helping you gain attention for your business. These programs help businesses stay in customers’ minds, improve goodwill, and often increase revenue.
6. Start a blog: Blogging is a fresh way to grow your company’s online presence, share ideas, and have your voice be heard. Insightful, entertaining, and educational content can help attract readers to your brand.
7. Offer a guarantee: How confident are you in your product or service? Guarantees provide assurance to customers and can demonstrate that you make customer satisfaction a priority. However, it’s important to only make claims that you can back up and follow through on.

It’s not easy for to stand out in a crowd. These tips can help your business compete against large brands.