Imagine you go to your local market to do some shopping. You have your list and you browse the aisles, choosing the products you want and the products you know … you’ve bought them before. But what if you want to try something new, say a loaf of bread or a box of cereal? In my market, these two products line either side of a long aisle, and there are a lot of brands to choose from. When confronted with so many options, how do you make a choice?

Now think about your service or product—what if someone is browsing the market where they can choose a specific service or product such as yours but they have never been in this aisle before. How are they to choose from all the services on offer? How can you help your product or service stand out?

In the market, it’s all about merchandising. How the product is displayed and making it attractive to the browser. Sometimes, it is positioned in a certain way to catch your eye—at the front of the shelf, for example. Or maybe it is on special and is given dedicated display space. How can we merchandise what we have to offer?

One way to approach this challenge is to put the emphasis on the right features of your product or service that will help it stand out. What are the key points to emphasize that will promote your product or service? Here are 7 tips that can help you emphasize the best of what you have to offer.

Build Your Brand Recognition

Your logo is the foundation of your brand. If you are just starting out, find a good designer to work with and be willing to pay for a logo that captures what your service or product represents. You want it to be strong and original and eye-catching. This is the first step to getting noticed and to helping your product or service stand out on the shelf. Keep it strong and consistent and find creative ways to work with it. Use it on cards, on promotional materials, add it to your email signature. Get it out there!

And don’t even think about changing your logo in a few years. This has proven to be disastrous for companies that gave it a try. Your logo is what sets you apart and builds your brand recognition.

Emphasize Your Key Services

Keep your key services front and centre at all times. You most likely have a website. If you don’t, get one. But if you do, be sure that the copy and design emphasize these key services. It is very easy to blur your focus, especially when you have a new idea for a new service and you add that to your website. Then another follows, and another. Suddenly, your website is overcrowded and visitors to your site won’t be able to identify what it is you have to offer. And they will go away.

When you find this has happened, do a few adjustments to your website and bring the focus back to your purpose. What are you key services? It is essential that these stand out at all times.

Promote Your Services

In the same way, be sure to promote your key services. There are so many ways to market what we offer but be sure to find ways that work for you (and your budget) and that speak to your clients.  

Bring your brand to life by showing your personality. Create a postcard (like we did here at TEC and that is the graphic above) that announces and promotes your location and services.

Create an e-newsletter to stay in touch with your clients. Include your logo to strengthen your brand recognition. Have a dedicated space that promotes your services. And write up some great copy about recent projects you’ve worked on.

Highlight Positive Client Feedback

Always thank your clients for sending you their work. And if they give you a compliment for the service you provided, ask them if you can use their compliment as a quote on your website and in any other promotional materials you create.

These endorsements carry a lot of weight and will encourage a new client to give your services a try. Much like when you pick up a book and read the back-cover blurbs. You are looking for that wee bit of guarantee that you are a making a good choice.

Do Great Work to Promote Word-of-Mouth Referrals

There is no better recommendation than when you receive a word-of-mouth referral from a client. It takes a bit of time to get these circulating, but if your good work is recognized by one client, ask the client to refer you, and it won’t be long before other clients are being sent your way.

Remember to always thank your client who made the referral. Send an email, give them a call, send a card. This recognition is so important and puts a positive emphasis on you and your service or product, and it says a lot about your brand!

Keep the Cost Competitive

Like all products and services, prices are going to vary. You may look at a new box of cereal and think that it might be a bit overpriced and decide not to buy it, even if so much about it is appealing. Be competitive but not out of reach. Be competitive but not underpriced. You need to find a middle ground that offers a comfortable rate for your client that will encourage the client to take you on. You want your competitive rates to accentuate your positive client feedback.

Make Getting In Touch Easy

Make it easy to contact you. If you use a form on your website, make it simple. Ask for limited information so the potential client can click on the “send” button quickly. Avoid “friction” or anything that will get in the way of that initial communication. And get back to them immediately. Don’t hesitate. Customers want quick answers to their pressing question—can you help me and how fast?

Use the communication channel that you feel comfortable with and that your audience will feel comfortable with. And, of course, there are many to choose from. Your website is the first line of communication. But you can also provide a dedicated phone number for phone calls. Or invite messages via Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or email.

Remember to respond immediately. The sooner you do, the better chance you have of winning a new client. This immediate attention goes a long way.

Go Forth and Stand Out!

Emphasize the best of what you offer and refresh frequently. Remember to merchandise your service or product to catch the eye of the consumer browsing your aisle, and always do great work to support your claims.

For more on marketing tips, be sure to visit our Editing & Marketing and Social Media blogs.

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