No doubt about it, being in business is about the customers and nearly all of your important functions as a business leader are customer-driven. Customers are the fuel that sustains your enterprise and they are worth their weight in gold. In exchange for just a few basic necessities that your organization provides—high-quality products and services, pleasant and efficient service end to end and prompt follow-up to whatever questions or problems, chief among them—your customers will be pleased. They’ll reward you by doing more business with you.

Some will become your cheerleaders and happily spread the good news of their positive experience with you. They’ll write glowing reviews and award your company five stars. Not only will they give you repeat business, they’ll also refer their colleagues and grow your list of customers. Good customers are the foundation of a successful enterprise and in particular for small and midsize businesses they are one of your most impactful competitive advantages.

Now, you may have built a strong brand that within your target market commands admirable brand awareness, but it is undeniable that small and midsize entities do not have the powerful brand influence wielded by even regional companies, let alone the multinationals. Furthermore, in the big picture, the products and services offered by Freelancers and other small entities are seldom perceived as unique. For the most part, small and midsize companies are all-too-often uncomfortably close to being considered a mere commodity and more or less interchangeable with competitors. Ouch.

So how can Freelancers and other owner – operators of small entities distinguish themselves and get positioned to thrive in an increasingly globalized marketplace? Fortunately, one of the most attainable and effective competitive advantages you can bring to your brand to rescue it from the taint of mediocrity is the loyalty of your customers. You nurture and sustain that powerful competitive advantage by the customer experience that you (and your team) present. When your organization gives the gift of a first-rate customer experience to those who do business with you, that happy feeling will become the defining memory that customers have of your organization.

A strategy, not an afterthought

You can showcase as competitive advantages any attributes or resources that your business holds, but the particulars of the customer service and experience your organization offers are personally and uniquely yours. What you do, how you do it and how your customers feel as a result will distinguish you from all competitors.

The customer experience you present is an extension of your company values and culture. When your guiding principles direct you to place the customer at the center of how you interpret best practices, you’ll incorporate that perspective into your business decisions, strategic directions and every customer touch-point. The customer service training you provide to customer-facing employees will reflect your standards of customer service best practices. The desired result is a rewarding customer experience that encourages customer loyalty and customer retention.

Products and services that consistently deliver

It is a given that the quality of your products and services is the leading factor in creating customer loyalty. Excellence is the expectation and customers will quickly abandon your organization if its solutions do not meet that standard.

If for some reason a product or service fails (as the customer defines it), your best defense is to respond quickly, deliver an apology that expresses genuine empathy for the inconvenience and provide a well-delivered correction that exceeds customer expectations.

Surprise and delight

It is always good business to thank your customers for their business and show them that you appreciate their confidence in you and your organization. That they choose to do business with you is the most sincere compliment. A thoughtful gesture costs very little and has the power to repay you many times over with customer loyalty, retention and referrals made.

Providing perks or VIP status is one way you can show gratitude to your best customers and it’s known to encourage repeat purchases and create enthusiastic brand advocates. Depending on your product or service line, consider inviting certain customers to have pre-release access to a new product or service. You might offer those customers a small discount in exchange for their inclusion in a case study that you’ll publish or appearing in a social media campaign.

Another way to show gratitude to customers is by sending a hand written note to thank them for their business. A short, simply written thank you note is an elegant and powerful way to express your appreciation for the opportunity to work with them. At the December holidays, remember to send a (secular) holiday card to customers you’ve worked with over the past four or five years.

The little extras you provide are an expression of your guiding principles, an extension of the memorable customer experience that your organization presents and a welcome change of pace from the digital realm, where most business interactions now take place.

Enable community

When your company’s guiding principles point you toward a customer engagement focus that is centered on customers, you won’t limit yourself to one-way broadcasting of company updates. Instead, you’ll spark conversations that have the potential to inspire your customers and motivate them to interact with each other, along with you and your customer-facing employees. Engagement means that customers feel that they’re part of a community, one that welcomes them with bonding activities that can include interesting conversations, receiving cards and personal notes, or gaining access to special product or service offerings.

Because your customers will find it most convenient to have these types of conversations online, take care to participate in social media platforms that first, make this type of communication accessible in terms of text and images, as does Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok and second, that your platform is one that customers are comfortable using.

When you take steps to build and nurture a satisfying and memorable customer experience, you can be certain that your brand will be recognized and appreciated by customers and prospects alike, who will be delighted to do business with your entity again again. Their loyalty will become one of your most powerful competitive advantages.

Thanks for reading,

Kim