It is both interesting and motivating to browse through interviews with some of the most important brand founders or representatives, and subsequently form an image on how a successful business and the mindset behind it might look in our times. See what famous entrepreneurs consider helpful for succeeding.
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Build and keep brand reputation
Jeff Bezos of Amazon makes things clear when it comes to brand reputation: “You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”
No shortcuts and no cheating, it’s as simple as that. Delivering a great service, setting and keeping a set of standards not only makes great brands, but it also makes a lot of sense. Ask yourself if the services or the products you deliver are exemplary and if you would be satisfied to be your own customer – hypothetically. Of course, people have different taste, maybe even different standards, but we all appreciate quality and each market segment has its own quality scale, one that any business should aim to conquer in its field.
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Find your niche
No fighter ever competed against all adversaries at once. As a company, you may never have to fall into the competitor position with many of the other brands on the market – it’s about adjacent or even parallel universes. Nevertheless, clearly determining your voice, your singular offer and your niche presence (as well as your dedicated public) is very useful in determining the right decisions and the brand identity.
“A great brand starts with a hero product” – Andy Dunn from Bonobos can teach others quite a few things concerning success in a crowded market.
Another related experience comes from Lauren Santo Domingo, co-founder of the high-end online retailer company Moda Operandi. Their customers choose their expensive products, with packages more expensive than a lipstick, because they established their niche where the more expensive a product is, the faster it sells. “We have really set a niche and we are unmatched. Our average order value is $2,000 and during Fashion Week that goes up.”
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Be consistent
This piece of advice originates from Sophia Amoroso, founder of Nasty Gal. It also comes with tips and tricks: paying attention to every detail and seemingly small choice actually matters in leading your brand on the road to success. Acting like a control freak might not be the most recommended thing for somebody’s health and it will not get bring in the popularity award, but it might be a useful mindset when delivering your brand image, message and products to the customers via a perfect experience, quality included.
Deploying controlled experiments with your brand allows diversity inside consistency – see if the new things match your image and message, and don’t be afraid to go back on the decisions that generate inconsistent elements.
In addition, a very useful general tip coming from the above-mentioned Sophia Amoroso: “the best mistakes are the ones you let other people make that you get to learn from.” Therefore, whenever time allows, it is good to go through others’ shared experiences and learn what to avoid in your own e-commerce trajectory.
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Build your online community
As Susan and Eric Koger of ModCloth put it, not having a brick-and-mortar store may enable businesses to better keep track of their clients and get to know them in different ways.
A strong brand community is interactive, responsive, honestly and cleverly moderated. The customer’s opinions should be taken into consideration and relationships built and maintained.
Communication is really important – if possible, avoid cliché formulas, unskilled customer service employees or mediated approaches. Try and genuinely reach your clients and respond to their concerns or praises, as this is an indicator of great customer services. Of course, getting to know or reply to all your customers depends on the size of your operations, but by carefully mentoring and supervising your staff the same attitude reflects at each level of your internal hierarchy.
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Establish a social media strategy
Whether choosing to use the social media tools or not, a business owner should not neglect this side of his or her business.
Even when a brand does not have an official social media channel, feedback tends to make its way into this trendy online environment. It is best to organize and supervise the social media brand image and make regulate updates. Not having enough time is not an excuse – a dedicated leader should make time and immerse in direct engagement, a thing that customers respond to and appreciate.
The modern consumers are demanding and savvy, getting their information online and developing sharp instincts related to what lies behind the social media scenery, as Birchbox Co-CEO Katia Beauchamp explains.
Your offline attitude reflects in the online customer interactions and customers sanction condescending attitudes and mistakes. Comparing this relationship with having a spoiled child is condescending in itself and rather exaggerated, but think of an extended family where all members love and care for the children – you cannot afford to be the distant family member that doesn’t really know what goes on with the offspring. The feedback would be negative and no business owner wants to establish such a dynamic with the customers.
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Constructive patterns are good, routine isn’t
There is no recipe for success because no two things are alike. Nevertheless each business may develop constructive patterns: in product development, market strategies, marketing, customers’ engagement and so on. According to the specific of the services or products offered, there may be certain inspirational sources, strategic sequences or staff training elements that work and somehow manage to avoid being repetitive in the same time.
Maybe your founding idea was related to a market element, an experience, an event or a famous brand. Alternatively, it sprung as a reaction to a service or product. Such derivatives are normal in a connected world and they do not lessen your brand originality – their motivational purpose can be revived whenever necessary.
Routine on the other hand is an element to avoid. Even in technical activities, when dealing with huge amounts of orders cannot be resolved without routine operations, try and supervise the dangerous side effects of routine: lack of interest, facade involvement, negative attitudes or feelings among staff members, all with potential consequences in what your operation is concerned. These might be occasional situations, but when a certain number of occurrences points to a less occasional phenomenon, try and shake the routine, because it might sink the entire boat sooner or later.
Success goes hand in hand with novelty and innovation, especially in the digital age. Keep informed, follow and study the hits on your market and identify the elements that you might bring into your business, without forgetting about consistency – here’s a thing that may not have a particular entrepreneur quote to support it, but emanates from many of the available interviews that we have browsed.
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An honest business attracts loyal customers
The first and foremost honesty example resides in being honest to yourself. As long as focusing on your business is a genuine, pleasant experience, you must be doing something right. Something important.
“The question I ask myself like almost every day is, ‘Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?” – Here’s a wisdom nugget coming from Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
When focusing on your activity one hundred percent, honesty comes as a given since there should be no other reluctant percent of yourself wondering elsewhere. Of course, this cannot be done day and night, or else your health and energy levels might be affected.
On the other hand, superficially approaching decisions, projects or daily tasks is a warning signal. Either there are other unresolved issues keeping your attention in the background, either your activity calls for innovations.
