Building and Strengthening the Structure of Your Small Business – Part 1 …
Four Action Principles
Here’s a really interesting article about the 4-Action Principles of building and strengthening the structure of Your Small Therapy/Coaching Business or Practice (BSSYAB).
It can be likened to being like a house it has to be able to withstand the forces of time and nature. And the two components are:
- The Foundations of the Right Mindset – the right support system and the application of timeless success principles
- The Structure – that makes up the right actions that need to be taken for your business
Once your foundation is secure … with a mindset that pushes you past your self-limiting beliefs, it’s time to build and strengthen the structure of your small business or practice by taking 4-actions that involve the ongoing study and application of success principles:
- Define It – Discover your uniqueness and create your brand by making a platform from which you’ll share your message with the world
- Market It – Identify your target market / ideal client by developing and sustaining a relationship with your same
- Fuel It – Generate leads and keep your pipeline full
- Leverage It – Networking off and online and through social networking, by creating joint venture opportunities; with your own products and services that create residual and leveraged income
Here in Part One of the series, we’ll examine the first part, defining your small business / practice; discovering your uniqueness, creating your brand.
PT 1 – Discover Your Uniqueness
My first question is:
What would you say is unique about your business practice? The chances are you may well give some features of your business., such as:
- My Therapy practice has a team of highly trained experts who keep up to date with techniques through continued training courses
- We have a newsletter that highlights special offers and offer Health tips
- We offer complimentary beverages
- With product lines that are industry leaders
- We use a cutting-edge software program that keeps track of the products customers buy, sets appointments for a year in advance
The Benefits
However the aspects that make your business unique come from further exploration than these surface attributes. It’s the benefits you offer – not the features – that make you unique. And it’s important to dig deeper to explore all the benefits that your practice offer clients. Some of these examples may be:
- Clients leave our practice feeling rejuvenated having shifted their issue
- Clients always leave feeling heard, listened to, valued and relaxed
- Clients don’t have to spend time researching what the most appropriate products are because we source them on their behalf, some of which they’ll have sampled as part of their treatments and being available to browse.
- Because you are so up-to-date clients can rely on your information and treatments
Here’s an exercise to help you get in touch with your uniqueness. List as many Benefits you can think of that your clients receive by doing business with you. Be as imaginative as possible, don’t hold back, and don’t be shy about blowing your own horn – root ta toot …
Create Your Brand
What makes people care about your business is how well you satisfy their wants and how you make them feel in the process. And this experience is fundamental to creating your brand.
What is a brand? Firstly, this is what IT IS NOT:
- Your company logo
- Your tag line
- Your business card : brochure : letterhead : website
- Your products or services
- Your niche area
- Your marketing or advertising
The Full Impact
However your brand should come through in everything you do, like your product, services, identity package, website and marketing. Brand consists of two components:
- What clients experience when they have contact with your business practice
- How clients feel after they buy or use your products or services
Whats Your Buying Experience
Examine any well-known brands and see if you can identify your experiences in using them and what your perceptions are, and how you feel after doing business with them. Clients respond to integrity and authenticity, and its up to you to provide the consistent opportunities for them to have this experience and perception of you and your business.
Market Leaders
Branding is for every business no matter what size. Having a brand not only gives you a competitive edge and positions you as a market leader. Going through the branding process helps you to experience your company through a fresh pair of eyes, because it takes time and thought to delve deeply into discovering your uniqueness and building your brand but you can begin the process by also answering the following questions:
- How do you want clients to feel when they buy from you and your services
- What do you want clients to say about you after they have bought from you or used you services
- Now begin to think of ways that you can create this experience for them and this will get you started on the amazing journey of creating your brand
Next Time
In the next part of the series, we’ll examine the second component of defining your business practice in creating the platform from which you’ll take your message out to the world.
Jane
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kate_Sanner
