A Happy client recently commissioned us to work on a market research project where we did in-depth interviews with their website users. It was no doubt an incredibly valuable process that gave our client many insights and made them think of changes that can be applied to increase their online sales.
I am a big advocate of market research and how it is beneficial to any kind of business. Listening to your customers is the best thing you can do to give them what they want and, therefore, achieve what you want.
The project I mentioned above has only just been completed and it got me thinking about changes. As part of our findings, we made some recommendations and, when looking at them, I have to say that it is nothing extra ordinary that we were proposing. And do you know why that is? Because CHANGE doesn’t always mean BIG CHANGE. There are changes that you can make that are rather small but the benefits are endless.
So inspired by that thinking, I came up with a little list of little changes that you can do to help your business grow.
One thing at a time
Analyse all your touchpoints. OK, this is a rather extensive exercise so spread it out. Analyse one aspect of it every week and make sure you do one change to put right what isn’t working that well. At the end of the year you will have exhausted all touchpoints and your company will be communicating internally and externally much better.
Be social
I am assuming that your company is already on social media (is it not? Oh dear, you better get speaking to Happy Nick asap!) So, make sure you splash social media on all your communication, by adding icons to all your literature to remind people of it, by including it on your email signature, by sharing it everywhere. The more followers you get, the more people will be listening to what your brand has to say.
Give the team a voice
At some companies, employees just end up doing their day-to-day job and don’t really get the chance to say what they really think. However, who’s to say that John from production or Margaret from finance don’t have a fantastic idea on how to boost your marketing, increase sales or better your communication? Ask them and, more importantly, when they answer you, listen. Try and see things from a different perspective.
Get out there
Network more. Get out there, meet people, let them know about what you do, be helpful. If you’re not seen, you can’t be remembered. There are lots of networking events every day in the business word. Pick a few that are right for you and start to mingle.
Listen
When we are too involved in our business and our industry, we get conditioned into just seeing things from our angle. Sometimes speaking to people from a completely different background can spark an idea and help change things. The secret is to listen and not dismiss any ideas too soon.
Never stop
The biggest secret to making things happen in a business is consistency. You have to work hard, keep innovating, treat customers well, offer the best quality you can, treat your team fairly, be creative. And you have to do all these things consistently.
Marilia Spindler is an Account Manager and creative thinker at Happy Creative, a strategic marketing and branding agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk.
