Digital Marketing
Small Business Qualities for the New Year
Recently a comprehensive article about the Chinese New Year came across my news feed. If you’re still getting your western new year’s resolutions in motion for your business, rest assured that you started ahead of some parts of the world. The year of the monkey started on February 8th, will continue into 2017 and after learning a bit about what that means I found some takeaways that could positively impact 
your business.
Whether you are starting up a new venture this year or you’ve been serving your customers for decades, there are certain strong personality traits of those born in the year of the monkey that can benefit you, no matter your industry. Here are a few things we can learn from running a monkey business:
Sociable
No matter if you’re a teen, parent or grandma, we’re all connected to the world wide web. Many people rely on a brands social media accounts for everything from regular updates to customer service, leading customers to connecting to businesses in a more personal way. There are many ways a social media presence benefits your business like boosting website traffic and increasing customer loyalty. The personal touch online and in the store can not only increase your sales, but have a greater impact in the community.
Quick tip: What are you giving away? Not the kitchen sink, naturally. But a sociable business gives free advice like a sibling or close friend. Making a client feel special, unique, and noticed by giving something as simple as a genuine compliment can go a long way.
Innovative
Innovation doesn’t have to stay in Silicon Valley with Google and Apple. Whether you’re running a bakery, manufacture widgets or provide landscaping services, solving a problem in a more efficient or creative way is a must to stay at the top of your industry. There are many tools available that can help your business stand out and stay ahead of the curve but thinking innovatively is a daily practice that really creates change. Having an ear to the ground for your industry’s current trends places you in the “monkey” mindset that is the productive type of wild.
Quick tip: What are you doing to stand out? The longevity of your business (10 years, 40 years) is impressive, not innovative. Spotlighting how you do what you do differently will place you as an essential in your local market.
Enthusiastic
If you wanted to take this idea of monkey business to the extreme, you may want to watch a documentary about how these primates truly behave. As a business owner, however, your time is probably better spent reading how building enthusiasm in the workplace could benefit your customers this year. Enthusiasm is contagious; when you get excited around me for long enough, I get excited. I’m not suggesting that when you make a call to a client you howl into the phone or start jumping on desks at the office, but a zeal for what you do is what turns customers into advocates. Why would someone care about what you do if you don’t?
Quick tip: What is the tone of your business? Whether you’re the owner or starting from the ground floor, you can direct the way your customer feels about your business. T-Mobile’s CEO is recognized for his enthusiasm, even if he’s a bit controversial sometimes. Find things about what you do that energize you and pass it on.
Self-Assured
If you’re bold enough to start a business, this is a quality you already have. Oxford defines self-assured as “confident in one’s abilities or character”; the former is what gets the job done while the latter ensures it is done with excellence. Every industry has its seasons of ups and downs so having confidence no matter the circumstance is what can bring you from a mere participant to a forward moving professional. More than that, when your business’ abilities and character align correctly, they combine to create that sociable business that people can believe in and tell others about. Word of mouth is still the strongest form of marketing, which is why a passionate self-assurance is so important.
Quick tip: Why are you in business? When the going gets tough, if you don’t have a true reason to exist, it will be all the more difficult to keep going. The bigger your why, the more confident you can become and the bigger impact you can make.
When spending time on gaining new clients, satisfying current ones or handling disgruntled employees, it can easy to lose sight of qualities like these that can take your business to the next level. Weaving them into the fabric of your day to day operations can provide your business the needed “oomph” it needs to serve more people and alieve some stresses.
At Spade Design, we love translating what you’re passionate about to your web presence. If you’re curious about what we could do to help you enhance your business, please let us know or use the comments below!
Running a monkey business isn’t a bad thing after all.
Image credit: 1funny.com
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