Nurturing Personality and Gaining Esteem to Succeed In Business
By Business Desk
Tuesday, May 24, 2016.
Sometimes, it may feel like business and personality are two very different things. Can adding personality to a business really do it that much good? Sure, we hear people in business say all the time that it’s important. But then you get to thinking of all the businesses out there that are incredibly successful but don’t have much of a personality to speak of. Look at a company like Oracle. When was the last time Oracle made you laugh? When has Oracle ever attempted to endear itself to you over social media?
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Of course, we can’t dismiss personality. In the age of the Internet, the personality of a new company is extremely important. But what companies like Oracle have is esteem. They’re known across the world for the work they’ve been doing for decades. There’s no real need for them to sincerely “connect” with people the way small businesses often do.
So what does this mean for small businesses? You can make yourself stand out with your personality, but it’s the esteem your business has that’s going to help you compete with the big guns. Here are the best ways to endear yourself to people and gain esteem. You’ll find that one often serves the other!
Maintaining a strong, likable presence on social media
You’re probably quite familiar with the need for social media marketing for your business. One of the most effective ways of doing social media marketing, though, involves something you can do for free. It’s called being likable! Make sure your community manager (or whoever leads your social media accounts) has a sense of humor. The right joke at the right time can get you some great publicity, especially when there are so many news websites eager to report on such things.
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If you happen to involve a current event or a celebrity in your social media antics, all the better. This worked out great for Pizza Hut when they took to Twitter to joke about Kanye West earlier this year. Interacting with customers who contact you on social media in a caring and (if appropriate) humorous way is also extremely helpful. You should also remember that giving great customer service can cause someone to mention you on Twitter. So even being friendly away from Twitter can help you here!
Keeping fair return policies
There’s not much that’s going to kill your business like an unfair return policy. Many companies out there try to enforce return policies that would really leave the customer short. The problem, of course, is that the law usually has the customer’s back. The point here is that, more often than not, a customer is going to get their money back if they want it within the first couple of months!
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So why be awkward about it? One of the things that earn a company great respect and likeability is an open return policy. Companies like Argos and Amazon are generally very fair when it comes to refunds. It’s done them huge favors, especially as it lessens the possibility of a negative customer experience.
Making sure your address doesn’t put people off
One of the sad realities of being a small business is that people are often put off by the fact that you’re, well, a small business. When a company isn’t working in the heart of a country’s business hotspot, people tend to make judgments. Someone seeing on your website that your small business is still currently being run from your village home may turn to someone in the city.
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For people working from home, or just outside the city, a virtual business address can work wonders. With one of these, you can use a big-city mailing address when interacting with customers and clients. Mail that is sent to that address can be sent to your “actual” address, so it’s a popular solution for companies who need an esteem boost.
Getting celebrity endorsement
Some of you may have just rolled your eyes at this one. After all, who has the money to get celebrities to endorse their product? The common view is that only the really big fish can afford to get that kind of marketing. It doesn’t help that we hear all the time about the massive figures thrown at celebrities in order for them to wear something or star in a commercial. We know about Beyonce’s $50m deal with Pepsi. David Beckham’s $160m deal with Adidas. And Michael Jordan’s billionaire status thanks to Nike!
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Pretty staggering, exhausting numbers there, for sure. How can a small business compete? Of course, getting the really big names is going to cost you really big bucks. But getting celebrity endorsement isn’t always something that costs at least seven or even six figures. Working with the right agencies can see you get celebrity endorsements at relatively affordable rates. Of course, if your product is good enough and you happen to catch the eye of a celebrity, there’s always the chance they’ll mention you over Twitter. Then you get some advertising for free!
Creating a fun marketing campaign
It’s entirely possible for the right marketing campaign to get you both the love of consumers as well as their money! Some of the more cynical among us may claim that marketing is always a cold, see-through business that shows little to no artistic merit. It’s true that the main aim of the game is to get more customers and, thus, more money. But why not have a little fun while doing it?
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Look at the Old Spice advertising campaigns, for example. The Man Your Man Could Smell Like endeared to even the most cynical of viewers. It, along with the subsequent commercials that were spawned from it, is a showcase of innovative production and humor. And it did tremendous business. The thing about this type of marketing is that it shows that your company have the ability to not take yourself too seriously. It shows that you can identify fun and creativity, regardless of what it is your product actually is. All of this reminds people that you’re not just a bunch of unfeeling, corporate robots.
