Your Business With James Caan 2017 - 50
Dare to be different Before you start your business, you need to be sure of your target audience as well as your company's unique selling point. Here's how to pin them down hen launching a new business, it's easy to put the horse before the cart. With so much to think about, you may find yourself bogged down in details, but one of the first things you need to be sure of is exactly who your potential customers are and just what it is that you can offer them that will make you stand out from the crowd. Having a unique selling proposition, or point - often just referred to as a USP - is a key component of success in any business. It will help you to take a market share from your competitors and allow your company to grow. But in a crowded market, it can be hard to find what will make your enterprise stand out and appeal to potential customers. That is why it's vital to research exactly what is already available. It's the key to offering a service or product that's above, beyond or simply slightly different from what's already out there. KNOW THE MARKET "Research is your best friend," says James Caan. "It's essential you spend a considerable amount of time sizing up your competition, understanding your market, establishing your USP and defining your target audience. "Lots of aspiring entrepreneurs I meet are obsessed with inventing something new. Instead, why not take something and make it better? People get hung up on inventing something unique - an idea, product or service nobody else is already offering - but there's very little in business that's truly unique. Focus on being better than the competition instead of looking for something new." To do this, James suggests you first ask yourself who your competitors are, how successful they are and where 50 they could make improvements. "The more you know, the better position you'll be in," he says. "Understanding what your competitors do well will give you a good idea about what your customers are looking for in any particular service or product." While your research may well uncover a gap in the market - allowing you to create a unique niche - before you take the plunge it's vital to first consider whether there really is a need for the USP you've discovered. "You need to find a way of filling the gaps, identifying any issues in the market and then offering a solution," ways your company could improve on your competitors' customer service, for example by saving your customers time through your ordering process." You could also offer a wider range of products, with more colours and/or more sizes, for example. To help establish your USP, James also recommends that you make a list of your business attributes and evaluate how well you meet those needs on a scale of one to five. "Once you've defined your USP, it's then a lot easier to promote your business, stand out from the crowd and disrupt the market," he says. MAKE YOURSELF HEARD Make a list of your business attributes and evaluate how well you meet them says James. "But you should also ask yourself whether the problem you want to fix really does exist." BE LED BY YOUR CUSTOMERS To be successful, a business needs to be customer- and market-led. "Customer satisfaction is a key area for any business, and providing a superior service to your customers can be an easily achievable USP," says James. "If a customer knows they will receive next-level service from you compared with your competitor, then they're more likely to come to you. Think of Having found a strong USP, you then need to focus on getting your message across to potential customers. After all, there's no point offering something unique if people don't know about it. "Just because someone currently has a position in a market doesn't mean they're delivering on it," says James. "If you can do it better, make it known. Perhaps you place particular pride on engaging with customers. Whatever it is, communicate it through all your portals." James also advises that once you've identified your target audience, you develop the business around them. "Know your audience and how to target them - and put yourself in your customers' shoes," he says. "Don't try to be everything for everyone. Focus on your customers and their needs. By trying to please everyone, you often end up pleasing no one. "Consulting your customers will make them feel they have a voice, will breed loyalty and, if you're lucky, will increase the likelihood of them recommending you to others.' □ WORDS: TRISH LESSLIE ILLUSTRATION: SHUTTERSTOCK W