The Vocne Post

Re-imagining your business is not just about changing the color scheme of your logo or trying out an innovative marketing campaign. Re-imagining your business is about going back to the beginning and “rebuilding” it to give it a fresh and vibrant restart, and this involves strategy.  

The strategy of your business is important. It is what keeps everything running smoothly. Perhaps you recheck your strategy from time to time (which is great!), or perhaps you haven’t looked at your strategy in a long while and aren’t even sure if its working for you anymore.  

No matter what your current situation is, it is always advantageous to look at your strategy and see how you can rewrite it and improve it. So, let’s look at some of the key components to get you started! 

The Key Components of a Good Business Strategy

You may be asking yourself—whether you’ve made a business strategy before or not—what exactly constitutes a good one. It is a valid question that deserves some consideration.  

• Have a vision for the future of your company. This includes what you want your business to be in the future. You could look at this component as having a set of goals you wish to accomplish for your business. Once you know where you are going you will be better able to create a roadmap to get there.  
• Consider your competition. You need to pay attention to what your competition is doing. This allows you to “borrow” what is working for them while also separating yourself from them so that you stand out.  
• Make sure that you have clear targets. This means you should define, for example, what your niche is so that the company can focus resources on the right areas. You do not want sales and marketing to get out of sync.  
• Identify where growth is possible. The main point of a business strategy is to help your business grow. However, to do this, you must know the areas that can grow and how you want them to grow. This should be part of your plan.  
• Research. Research is vital to a good business strategy. You must take the time before putting anything into practice. Research isn’t just about competitors; it is about your entire business. It is about what can and cannot work. If you don’t do the leg work, the strategy will get off to a wobbly start. 

• Make decisions based on what you know. It is important to be proactive, but it is also important to not behave rashly. Make fact-based decisions to move your business forward. Only act upon what you know, not what you don’t. 
• Measure and analyze your strategy. Once you put your strategy into practice, the work is not done. You need to properly measure your strategy—in terms of success—and analyze your findings. Why? By doing this, you ensure that you will always be ready to improve your plan.  

By understanding these key components of a good business strategy, you can move forward in your plans for your business. Your business always has the potential to grow, but your strategy is the tool you need to make that happen. 

What Areas of Your Business Need a New Strategy?

Having a fresh strategy is a beneficial step in re-imagining your business. Consider how it will help you.  

A good strategy will also allow you to pinpoint your strengths and your weaknesses. Once you know where your weaknesses are located, you can turn them into strengths by focusing on them. How does this help you? It allows you to strengthen your business while keeping a competitive edge on those businesses around you.  

So, what areas of your business need a new strategy? Every business is different, so there is no “one size fits all” answer to this question. However, there are things you can focus on that will guide you in the right direction.  

Start by breaking down your business into easily digestible parts. When you look at the whole picture too quickly it can become overwhelming. When you are overwhelmed, it becomes much more difficult to make progress.  

You can split your business up into as many categories as you like. They can be formal titles or informal. As long as you understand what it is then it will work.  

So, for example, you could split your business up in the following way: 

• Marketing & Advertising 
• Employees 
• Customer Service 
• Merchandise & Supplies 

Of course, your business may not need some of these—if you do not have any employees, for example—but something along these lines will suffice. What do you do next? You break down those sections even further.  

An Example

Let’s take a look at the first section: Marketing & Advertising. Every business need both these things to work for them in order to grow. It is an inevitable part of running a business. Marketing and advertising were important one hundred years ago, and it will remain important one hundred years from now. The media through which they are presented is all that has truly changed.  

While marketing and advertising could constitute their own blog (and we plan on writing on this subject much more in-depth soon), let’s look at it quickly in the context of creating a new strategy for your business.  

Business X is a small business that relies heavily on organic web traffic for growth. Organic web traffic is traffic that is not paid for. Essentially, it is marketing and advertising where you do not spend money to get those advertisements seen.  

Now, this may have worked in the beginning for Business X, but now it is not working the way they thought it would. However, they haven’t done anything to change that. Enter a new strategy.  

Business X can look at this in a few ways. The first way, of course, would be to discard the organic traffic model for a paid traffic model. The new strategy would focus on raising money to have paid traffic. However, Business X may also decide (and we recommend this option) to focus on both organic and paid traffic models that work together.  

This blog isn’t about organic traffic vs. paid traffic—there are pros and cons of each—but, rather, is using it as an example of a larger picture.  

The trick is to see what is working and what is not. Are there areas you can improve? Do you need to create new goals to strive for? If you have employees, are they happy? Take a survey to strategize. What about your customers? How do they feel? A new strategy will help you prioritize and make the right decisions.  

Research, Research, Research: See What Your Competitors Are Doing

The best strategies take into account the competitors of the business. You must try to stay ahead of your competitors. You never want to give them an edge. However, you can use them to your benefit.  

The first step of re-imagining the strategy for your business is research. Research as much as you can. First, start by identifying your competitors. Locate businesses that are in your industry. Perhaps you already know them, or perhaps you have to start from scratch. Either way, make sure you know who is competing for your customers’ attention.  

Once you have identified your competitors, it is time to research what they are doing. Take a look at their marketing and advertising strategies. Consider their customer service. Read the reviews customers leave them; gauge the reaction.  

How do you use this information for your strategy? If Business Y is doing something that Business X is not doing—but it is working for them—then Business X should implement that same strategy.  

Of course, this is not foolproof; but it is a good start. If it works for you, too, then great! If it doesn’t? Not to worry. You will already have a foundation upon which to build. You can tweak and adjust as much as you like until you hit that “sweet spot” where it all clicks.  

It is easy to get discouraged when re-imagining your business. In today’s world, we want everything NOW! But that isn’t always possible. When it comes to your business’ strategy, you must realize that time is your friend.  

Time will tell you all you need to know. There are some business strategies—such as paid advertising—that can tell you what you need in a short period. For example, if you are putting a lot of money into an advertising campaign, you want to make sure you are making money. Therefore, a few weeks may be all you need to know whether it is working or whether you need to adjust it.  

Moreover, there are some strategies that need a little longer to see the full picture. It depends on how it will affect your business.  

While it is good to have short-term goals and plans, it is important to recognize that the only way to analyze the changes in your company is to have a collection of data.  

The more data you have to analyze, the more accurate a representation it will be of whether it is working or not.  

Therefore, it is important to not give up early (actually, never give up!). If after a those few months you see things are working well, you can keep up the good work. However, if you see things have not changed, or have not changed as much as you had wishes, it is time to take another gander at your strategy.  

Conclusion

Building a successful business strategy is a never-ending process. You will always be working on it, improving it. However, the part that takes the most work is creating the strategy at the beginning.  

As you move forward, consider re-imagining your strategy from the ground up. Sometimes it is psychologically a good move to start “fresh.” It is like how everyone likes to start over on January 1^st, It is a frame of mind, and that frame of mind can go a long way.  

Your strategy is your business’ backbone and is worth considering a re-haul of. Take your time, analyze your business, and see what works for you.    

Whether you have your own small business or you are considering starting one, you are probably wondering what you need to do. You are going to put a lot of time and effort into your business, so you want to make sure you are doing things correctly.  

Even if you already have a business that is successful and has many years going strong, there is always work to be done. You must remain proactive (sometimes reactive) as the landscape change around you. These changes will impact your business directly.  

Outside Influences Are Out of Your Control

Many outside influences are going to be out of your control. It is how you handle them that will set you apart from your competition. Consider some of the influences that may impact your business: 

• Global pandemics 
• New competition 
• Automation 

Sometimes, running a business can seem great with no worries. However, you must be prepared for when obstacles do present themselves.  

Yet, despite these outside influences that are out of your control, you must believe that the sky is the limit. You must strive to achieve more than what you have. If you do not, then your business may remain stagnant, become irrelevant, or, worst of all, fail entirely.  

So, how do you strive to achieve more in the modern world? You must look for new ways to re-imagine your business. The business world is constantly evolving, so you should do the same. 

5 Areas to Re-imagine for Your Business  

t is always good to take inventory of areas that can be improved in your business. It does not matter how many times you have done it in the past. You may discover something that can dramatically change your business.  

Consider these five areas you can re-imagine for your business: 

• Strategy
• Branding
• Marketing
• Copy
• Operations/Service

Taking a closer look at each of these categories will give a clearer picture as to how you can re-imagine your business now so you can see success tomorrow.  

Strategy

Where has your business been heading the past 12 months? Where would you like it to go? How are you going to get it there? In a perfect world, what would your business be doing? Are you doing it? 

Identifying these important objectives and structuring a plan to achieve them is so important. They also require constant re-imagining as the market changes. One of the biggest challenges is finding solutions for problems that aren’t here yet.  

We are excited to break down these categories in further detail over the next several months. Together, we are going to re-imagine your business to help you achieve the most from it.  

Branding

When you think of branding, we’re sure that many things come to mind. For our purposes here, when we are talking about branding, we are talking about the promotion of your company with distinctive design and messaging.  

This is a vast topic that we won’t dive too deeply here, but, essentially, we see it as an “identity” that our businesses portray to customers to make it attractive and easily identifiable. Our brands separate us from our competitors.  

While consistency is very important for customers to associate the business to the identity, periodic reevaluations of the messaging portrayed by the brand can reap big rewards.  

Marketing

How we promote our businesses constantly changes; and things that worked well last year may not work so well this year.  

Taking time to re-imagine how to get the word out about your products and services can go a long way. How are your marketing KPIs (key performance indicators) performing? Have you seen a shift in the ways that customers are responding to the constant barrage of marketing messages?  

The challenges to digital marketers becomes even more apparent with the ever-changing customer privacy restrictions that make us re-image how we engage our customers and how we track the effectiveness of our campaigns.  

Awareness of the challenges that are present is the first step; but taking time to re-imagine our responses is the bigger objective. There never will be a perfect plan, but there can be perfect responses.  

Copy

Much like branding, copy is the voice of your business that communicates directly to your customers. How we use this channel for communication can portray what we want very effectively, but it can also work against us.  

It is important to write clear, concise copy that communicates exactly what you want your audience to know. Yet, it is not just the words of the copy that matter. It is also about how the copy is presented to your audience.  

Taking some time to re-imagine the way that you communicate to your customers can freshen up your brand.  

Operations/Service

Have you taken any time to evaluate how efficiently and cost effectively your business runs? Shop around for a different shipping partner–you may find a better rate with faster delivery times.  

Gather data on your receiving teams–you may find that their units per hour (UPHs) are hindered by the lack of appropriate equipment.  

Send surveys to your customer database–maybe you’ll find opportunity about your return policy. 

There are so many moving parts to a business. Re-imagining these moving pieces for opportunities for improvement are one of the most effective and quickest ways to show measurable data.  

Conclusion

These areas are just the beginning of your re-imagining process. It is best to take each area separately and slowly. You do not want to rush into anything because your audience will always notice a “rush” job.  

Moreover, it is important to monitor your competitors and see what they are doing, too. You want to make sure you are always one step ahead of the rest so that you can continue to progress upward.  

It isn’t difficult to re-imagine your business, but it does take some creativity, time, and effort.  

As of the writing of this article, the national unemployment rate sits at 6 percent, which is down from the high of over 14 percent in March 2020. Nevertheless, many people have found themselves in a situation where the job that they once had was lost. Uncertainty around how to support their families looms large. Unemployment in the 2020s is a very real reality for many people. 

There are many folks who have lost their job at the start of this new decade. Many of them have not needed to look for employment in a decade or more. Even folks who have not had to look for a job for a few years will find the job market has changed.  

What once worked does not anymore. The world is an ever-changing environment, and this extends to the job market, too. 

A Story to Illustrate Unemployment in the 2020s

We thought a good way to illustrate how the job market has changed in the 2020s was to offer a story that perhaps you can relate to. 

This a story is about a man that we’ll call Shane. Shane is mid-career and has been a journeyman, having worked in many industries in different capacities over the course of his 18-year working career. Throughout those years, he was always gainfully employed with sufficient benefits to support himself and his family.  

Then the pandemic hit. Shane found himself as another casualty of the mass layoffs experienced during the economic downturn. Unemployment was reaching new heights.

While not completely unexpected, the harsh reality hit him in the face. Plaguing his thoughts was uncertainty and the feeling of helplessness.  

Questions Asked During Uncertain Times

He asked himself some of the following questions:

• “What do I do now that I’m unemployed?”  
• “How do I support my family?”  
• “Is anyone hiring in this climate?”  
• “Do I continue what I’ve been doing all these years, or do I think about changing careers?” 
•  “Is now a good time to do contract work?”  
• “Can I afford to take a pay cut with my next job?” 

These were only a handful of the myriad questions running through Shane’s head.  

Fortunately, Shane’s last employer was very supportive during the layoff process. Shane was given a severance to help him get started, and they provided career transition services to help him. 

A Changing Unemployment Landscape

While it had only been four years since his last job search, he quickly found out how different the hiring landscape had become.  

Older ways of looking for jobs were not the best options anymore. This thought was a turning point for him. 

Shane was previously in the business of analysis, brand development and other business-growth sectors. He was sought after for his abilities to identify opportunities for growth in others.

What he discovered was that when he tried to turn that lens on himself it was considerably more difficult.  

Once he found out that he was out of a job, he updated his resumé and began searching the job boards. He applied to a handful of jobs that he found attractive but with limited success.  Unemployment was becoming more challenging than he imagined.

A New Job Search Calls for New Tactics

After working with his career transition consultants, he learned that searching for a job was considerably different than to what he was used to. He discovered that how his resumé was formatted, and the keywords that he chose to document his work history therein, had hampered his exposure with today’s Applicant Tracking Systems. This was why he wasn’t hearing back! 

This was not the only area for improvement. Through weeks of work learning how to attract employers, quantify his past achievements, format his resumé, utilize today’s social networks, remain motivated during this period of unemployment and so on, he began to be contacted by recruiters and companies. 

He learned that despite his ability to see opportunity in others with his specialties, he in turn benefited from consultants to find the opportunities in him that was missing. 

Summary  

Shane’s employment story is not yet over. However, the cogs are turning, and opportunities are coming in.  

Sometimes we are all like Shane. We need help from others and can benefit from other perspectives.  

In the end, if we surround ourselves with the right people, we tend to all help each other. Sometimes, this is what we need to get us through the obstacles that life throws at us. We are all specialists with what we do, and together we all can achieve more. 

Your website is the main hub for your business. It is the place where most folks will find you, and it is the place where you will provide myriad pages of information. A business’ website is its central point from which all its other operations stem. You can see why a website is so important. It is one of the most versatile tools a business has at its disposal in the twenty-first century.  

As you can imagine, having a great-looking website is hugely important. Having a smooth-running website is just as important. A lot goes on behind-the-scenes to make sure the front end of the website looks good.  

We’ve been discussing in recent blogs about the importance of paying attention to the details in every aspect of your business. Your website is no different. In fact, there are so many places in your website where the details matter that this blog will only scratch the surface; but we hope that this blog fosters your analytical thought process to look closer at your website. 

The Copy Matters

One thing that shall appear in great multitudes across your website is text. It is everywhere. Even if you don’t (or won’t) use many long paragraphs or lengthy descriptions, copy still populates your webpages.  

Think about it: the dropdown menus, navigation tools, address, slogans, and more all use copy. The copy you use matters. Well-written copy communicated succinctly to your audience. It will begin a conversation with them that will, if done effectively, lead to sales and growth for your company.  

But what should you be looking at? For starters, you should look at the wording you are using on your website. You need to look at the grammar, the syntax, and all the technical aspects of your copy, too. For example, how does the copy visually look? 

If you have pages that have extensive use of copy ask yourself: “How is the layout of this copy?” A “wall of text” is a terrible thing for any webpage: it will overwhelm your audience.  

The trick is to visually break up the text. The simplest way is to simply break your paragraphs down into much smaller paragraphs. Keep each paragraph to only a few sentences. Whitespace is your friend. Remember that.  

Another way to break up your text is to include photographs, videos, or other media. Make sure it is complimentary to the text. This method will keep your audience engaged while also sharing more information with them.   

As we will touch on later in this blog, the backend of what we see is just as important as these customer-facing elements. SEO is a major part of your website. While an entire blog (or possibly even blog series) could be dedicated to SEO, we will briefly touch on it here. 

You want people to read your content and your website. The trick is to optimize your content for search engines to find and present to your customers. In short: editing your content to show up on Google on the first page. Pick a keyword and edit accordingly.  

There are plugins for websites that help you keep track of this information. Your keyword will show up in various spots, but the key is to make it seamless. Like a good edit in a film, your readers shouldn’t notice the keyword within the content you are presenting.  

The “Flow” of the Website

Speaking of visual components of a website: pay attention to how your website “flows.” There are several things to pay attention to. We already discussed the copy, but what else should you look at? 

Details are important. They can be big or small. You’ll probably find more small tweaks than big ones, and they are equally as important. When looking at the flow of your website consider all the visual components—and we mean all. 

Here are a few things you should be looking at: 

1. Color: How does the colors on your website complement each other. Moreover, how do they complement your brand and your brand’s story? 

2. Logos: Do you use logos on your website? Where are they located? The placement of your logo (and icons) is important. A poorly misplaced logo or icon could get lost across your website. Remember, most people probably won’t make it down to the footer of your website. Use this to your advantage. Put the most important information near the header of your website. 

3. Variety of Media: What media are you using? Are you only using text? Video? Photography? Mix it up. Having a good variety will keep your audience engaged and more likely to “click around.” 

4. Organization: Is your website too “noisy”? Rather, is it too busy and confusing? Keep it organized and keep it simple. You don’t want to overwhelm your audience.  

Of course, this just scratches the surface. The main takeaway is that you need to pay attention to everything on your website. You want everything to work in harmony, not only with each other but with your brand and your messaging. You want to communicate a strong, unified message to your audience.  

Behind the Curtain

When we go to see a play, we enjoy the performances on stage a lot more than what happens behind the scenes right? Even though everything that we’ve talked about in this blog so far is the flashier and most customer-facing details of a website, what goes on behind the curtain is just as important: even if most of your customers will never see it.  

Backend Details of Your Website

Semantic Markups

So, what is semantic markup? In short, it is using a markup language, such as the HTML of your site, to provide meaning, syntax, and structure to the elements on your site that are readable by computers and people.  

Why is this important? When done correctly, HTML is used for its intended purpose, which is to provide meaning and structure to your site. While it was used in the past to style websites before the creation of CSS and Javascript, it was never intended for that purpose.  

When our markup is not semantic it is not as easily read by machines such as search engine crawlers, browser translation tools, and assistive technologies such as screen readers. If it’s harder to read then our sites don’t show up in search results as often and we miss opportunities by having our information easily read by users of assistive technologies. If we want to capitalize on the opportunities presented by getting our information to as many people as possible, it cannot be understated how important semantics are to your site.  

SEO

There are other areas where the SEO can be improved in the small details behind the curtain. The important thing to remember is that there is a lot more going on with a website than what meets the eye. Search engine crawlers reward sites that provide information that users are looking for in efficient and relevant ways.  

Search engines like Google are on a mission to provide us with the best search results when we are looking for information. The way to get selected by search engines when the search happens by the user is to follow the advice that we have in this blog.  

Everything, from keyword-rich copy, to semantic markup on the backend (to ensure accessibility to all machines and people), to relevant content that people want to access, goes into the complicated equation that computes what sites get shown to users when they are searching for information. We want our sites to be seen. So, everything that we can do to improve our odds is worth the attention to detail. 

“Details matter, it’s worth waiting to get it right.“

Steve Jobs

Details. In our last blog, we discussed how paying attention to the little details goes a long way in achieving success. Attention to detail will help a business go from good to great. But now we’d like to dig into this concept a little more deeply. 

Every business—no matter the size—is going to have marketing campaigns. These campaigns may be online or in person. It doesn’t matter. Regardless, attention to detail is going to be important.  

Marketing campaigns are designed to entice customers to do business with you. Marketing is always transforming and evolving, so what may have worked ten years ago won’t necessarily work today. The little details will add up and go a long way into elevating your campaign from “okay” to “great.”  

Ideas

To illustrate what we are talking about we’ll take a look at a marketing campaign we worked on recently with a client.  

It all starts with an idea (or ideas). Brainstorming is an integral part of the process because you will discover options you didn’t even realize at first glance.  

We were working with a client recently for a 2020 holiday marketing campaign. It began with brainstorming ideas, which itself began with the formation of a list of goals. We took the list of goals and came up with ideas on how to achieve them. This breakdown helped us organize ourselves. 

This process took about five weeks. During those five weeks we spoke back and forth with our client, and as we did the ideas were whittled down to just three.  

Brainstorming Ideas for the Best Results

Details, as we have mentioned before, are super important when running a business. They are what elevate all that we do from “good” to “great.” It would have been easy to simply run with the first idea that came to us at the beginning of this process; it would have been easy to forget the brainstorming and just go with that first idea, but would it have been the smart thing to do? Probably not.  

Instead, we really “hacked away” at the ideas we were thinking about. We paid attention to the little details and honed them into three really great ideas that we could move forward with.  

In the case of our client, we wanted to give back to the community during these difficult times. Through thought, analysis, and discussion around the aforesaid goals we were able to discover a way to achieve them that made sense. 

We Need to Think About Every Aspect

This objective—giving back to the community—is very admirable. Discounts undoubtedly drive sales, but there are other things to think about.  

If we discount too heavily the brand may appear to be a discount service provider and jeopardize the premium, high quality offerings of this client. If the discount isn’t enticing enough it won’t drive much interest. Should the discount or package be too confusing, a potential customer may move right past the offering altogether.  

These are just a few things that were discussed. We found a way to offer a variety of packages to cater to the “bargain shopper,” a way to encourage gift certificate purchases, and a unique package that also involves a collaboration with another local small business to provide wider support in the community.  

These vetted ideas, coupled with analysis of past campaigns, helped formulate a well-thought-out campaign.  

Plan

After the ideas were formulated, our attention was then given to the creation of the marketing plan. Attention to the details was paramount in this step, too.  

We had to ask ourselves a series of questions. Of course, each business will have different questions that pertain specifically to them, but they will generally be similar. Here are some of the questions we asked: 

1. Who were we going to target these holiday specials toward?  

2. How do we reach these potential customers?  

3. What, if any, budget is there to place on paid promotions?  

4. Which free channels could be utilized for distribution?  

5. What fine print or restrictions should be determined?

One of the things the client wanted to do was to have a flyer created and be printed to be placed around the surrounding area. This is a great way to get eyes on the specials, and it is a great way to partner with other area businesses. This led to another area where the details really mattered. 

Creating a Campaign in Accordance with the Brand Story

We already had brand guidelines determined for this client, so it was important to make the campaign unique but in accordance with the brand story that we’d worked hard to create. This brought up a new set of questions we had to ask ourselves, such as: 

1. What image(s) did we want to help convey the feelings of the packages and of the season?  

2. Do the colors communicate the emotional response that might lead to further reading or conversion?  

3. Is the copy easy to read, is the typeface large and clear enough?  

4. Is the copy clearly written with no errors?  

Attention to Detail: An Example of Aesthetics

We got together with the team, and we produced several designs with different photos and several edited descriptions and titles of the specials. We also determined that a separate web page should be created on the client website to allow further descriptions and restrictions to the campaign.  

It was determined that the flyer was too cluttered with all that information! We wanted the flyer to have a clean aesthetic that would be pleasing, and the extra fine print cluttered it in a way we didn’t like.  

This is where attention to the details and a thorough vetting can really pay off. Taking the time to have open discussions and dedicating the right resources to getting it all right is worth the wait. In the end we created a flyer that the client liked that was of the highest quality.  

Debrief

There were many questions posed in this blog. While these were not all the questions asked during this process, listing some of the questions here can help to illustrate the thought and dedication to getting the details right.  

It can also show that even with all the thought and analysis in the world we don’t know for sure it if will be successful. This is where a debriefing can continue to increase the likelihood of success in the future. 

After the 2020 holidays are over, you can be sure that we will be getting together with this client to evaluate the efficacy of the specials created, the marketing campaign, and all of the details therein. During the debriefing we will ask: 

1. Did we formulate the right products?  

2. Have we effectively communicated those products?  

3. Did we invest in the right marketing channels?  

It will be our challenge to identify the missed opportunities to continue improving and make the next campaign that much better. As we learn how to make them better, even if they were good before, continual improvement is always our goal. 

Conclusion

This is just one example of how the details matter in a marketing campaign. There are a multitude of questions to ask, but these questions help facilitate quality content.  

The details are important. If we just move forward with the first idea that pops into our heads, then we are cheating ourselves. We won’t know what is beyond that first ideas. Perhaps that first idea isn’t as great as we first thought. Do we really want to look back and regret the decisions we’ve made? 

And, moreover, once we’ve settled on the “right” idea the attention to detail doesn’t end. There is so much more to look at. The aesthetics of the campaign, the wording of the campaign, and so forth.  

For example, the title of your campaign is very important. It is going to be one of the first things your customers see, and you want it to hook them into caring.  

A boring title will essentially turn them away. You could have the best special in the world, but they won’t find out what it is. Likewise, if you use a cliché for a title your audience will disengage because “What’s so special about a cliché? We’ve heard them a million times before.” Be creative. A catchy, unique title is an important detail we can’t overlook.  

Nevertheless, attention to detail is important. When it comes to advertising and marketing campaigns never forget to pay attention to every facet of your project. It could mean the difference between being seen and being invisible.   

Over our working careers, we’ve all been influenced by something or someone. Occasionally, one or two of these influences stick with us, bring us opportunities, and so we pass these little gems on to others.   

We know what you’re thinking: “Here comes some piece of ‘wisdom’ from some old guy who thinks that he has some insights that would benefit me and my business.”  

But hear us out. The catchphrase that we’re about to examine may be familiar to many of us, but its reach is expansive and can be translated to many disciplines. Its premise can also explain why small businesses acquire missed opportunities—opportunities we’ll explore more in depth in future blogs. 

Retail is Detail

“Retail is detail.” This phrase was once spoken to me many years ago. I was a young retail manager at a multibillion-dollar company. It made sense. I was directly responsible for millions of dollars of retail sales, inventory, profit, and loss. Why wouldn’t a catchy phrase that rhymes “retail” and “detail” be used in a retail environment?   

Apparently, this quote was first used by James Gulliver, while at Safeway and Fine Fare, to lay the foundation for supermarket retailing. For good reason too. When we broadly look at the business of retail we see many moving parts. All these parts work together. They are interconnected and dependent on one another.  

As customers, we see stores of varying sizes stocked with items to sell. These stores arrange their products in specific ways to entice the customer, thereby opening up more opportunities for them to sell. Moreover, these stores also have employees and technology to help bring about a sale.  

Little Details Have a Profound Effect

But how do they get to that point? Merchandise displays are carefully crafted to attract buyer attention.  Store layouts are constructed to maximize the opportunity for add-on purchases. Product assortments are carefully chosen to cater to target customers. These same assortments are purchased or manufactured at desirable profit margins. The list could go on and on. 

What happens if a delivery of goods is slow to reach a store and a hot-selling item sells out in that location? That is a missed opportunity. What if that item actually arrives at the store in time but it isn’t received and priced in a timely manner? That is a missed opportunity. What if that same item is received quickly enough but the wrong SKU (stock keeping unit) or price is affixed to the item? That is a missed opportunity.  

As you can see, missed opportunities come from a variety of places and can add up quickly. These little details can have a profound impact on our business. Furthermore, if these details aren’t defined and optimized with thorough planning then the execution will be subpar.

“So, how does this apply to me? I’m not in retail…”

Recently we were editing a video and our objective was to make this video stand out. Or, to use another phrase, we wanted it to go from “good” to “great.”  

A video project can have good shots, a good “flow” brought about in the editing, and can tell a good story. However, is it as good as it could be? Will it have the same effect? 

We need to look at the little details. We can make a video project, for example, be even better by adding the right music and the right sound effects in the right spots. During the editing process, we can work on the color correction to really alter the mood of the project. We could also add a voiceover to really tie the whole piece together. This list, also, could go on. The takeaway here is that to surpass expectations we need to look at the details.  

A good practice for all of us managing small businesses is to really have a keen eye toward the small details that drive our businesses. These details will certainly vary depending on each situation. We won’t always see all of the details, but spending the time and effort to identify the details goes a long way.  

By identifying the details we give ourselves the change to develop strategies to make sure they are executed well. If we are able to do this then we will find new opportunities for success that we didn’t even know were there.  

Communication is an artform that is an integral part of life. Yet it is often a skill that gets neglected, especially in a business. We think, “They’ll know what I mean,” or our employees may think, “I’m not sure if I should say something.” A breakdown in communication ensues and is all too common.  

For a business to run smoothly there needs to be a clear line of communication between employers and employees (and between businesses and customers, too). But communication moves beyond what we audibly “say.” It encompasses body language, copy, design, and how we present ourselves in general.  

Improving Communication “Behind the Scenes” 

There are a few ways to improve your communication behind the scenes in your company. The first, and most important step, is to create an atmosphere where everyone from top to bottom feels comfortable. But how do we do this without it feeling “forced”? We have to be genuine. We have to be approachable.  

There needs to be transparency in the line of communication between the employer and the employee. The employer needs to let the employees know what is expected of them, what is happening, and so on. Likewise, the employee needs to feel comfortable to know that if they have an idea or a concern that they can voice that thought out loud. You don’t want the people who work for you to feel like they haven’t a voice. 

Not only is this transparency important for business efficiency and ethics, but it can have legal ramifications too. We see this often with large companies and their code of conduct and sexual harassment training programs. Not only do many companies provide very clear training modules and have clear SOP’s (standard operating procedures), but all employees have to acknowledge that they’ve participated in those trainings. In nearly all of these, there are ways that employees can voice their concerns anonymously and without reprisal. These are extreme examples, but they illustrate the importance of providing all voices to be heard.  

Communication is also vital to having “smooth running” operations. You want to make sure that your base of operations (whatever online platform you use; for example: Microsoft Office or Google Drive) is well laid out. Make sure you answer emails in a timely fashion. All too often, slow email response times can lead to a communication breakdown. 

Communicating with the Customer

Internal communication is important but so is your public communication. Public communication in which you communicate directly with the customer is integral for success. You want your customers to know what your company is all about and to feel comfortable doing business with you. You definitely don’t want potential customers thinking you’re “shady” and have something to hide.  

So how can you improve your communication to the client? Social media, which we’ve written about before, is important here. Social media offers you a public platform to communicate directly with your target audience. Not only can you update them on what’s happening in real time, but you can also chat with them in the comment section. It puts a positive face on your company. This also ensures that your client feels like they have a voice, too.  

You can also use online platforms to respond to feedback offered by clients. If they leave a good comment you can thank them. If it is a “not-so-good” comment then you can respond in a positive way while also addressing their concerns. This also helps build your online reputation.  

Communicating with the customers transcends social media. Social media may be the way of the future (and the present), but there are still “old-school” techniques that are just as important today as they have always been.  

We mentioned earlier that communication is not just what we audibly say, but also how we carry ourselves, i.e., body language. If your business has a physical location and you deal with customers face-to-face then body language is hugely important.  

You want to have a friendly demeanor. It is an old cliché at this point, but make sure to have a smile on your face. A smiling face is much more welcomed than a frowning or “emotionless” one. Make sure to stand straight. You want your customers to approach you.  

In addition, what you audibly say also has a huge impact. This may seem like advice that doesn’t warrant a retelling but: don’t be rude with your customers—even if you’ve had a bad day. We’ve encountered employees that are rude and all that does is make the customer never want to come back. As a business you are “playing a part” and you need to make sure you play it well while still being genuine.   

Everyone Has a Voice

A recurring theme in this article is how each person has a voice that should be heard. This is what communication is all about. Communication strives when there is a dialogue occurring.  

By giving your employees a voice, you may find they have some good ideas that can help your company. Moreover, it’ll boost the work atmosphere and make them feel like they are a part of the team. And, really, they are. This is important. They are a part of the team, and it is your job to make sure they know that.  

A company is a machine that has many moving parts. For it to operate properly the cogs and gears need to work harmoniously and be well oiled.  Think of communication as the oil that keeps the gears running smoothly.