It’s so easy to get into a groove that works and stay there. And sure, customers find comfort in reliability and a degree of predictability. A small business without fresh energy and vigour, however, is in danger of falling victim to customer boredom – and if your customer snoozes, you lose.
Customers are only human and if your business keeps dishing up the same offering, day after day, month after month, you could risk customers becoming bored with your business. A bored customer is a dangerous one, as they’re likely to go looking for alternatives or be easily swayed by an offering that is seemingly better (even if it’s not!).
With a little creativity and planning, you can keep your offering fresh and alluring and ensure you keep your customers coming back for more.
Whether you’re in the business of food, fitness, finance or anything in between, here are a few ideas to keep what you’re doing fresh and engaging:
- Embrace seasonality
Most business are able to embrace seasonality in their own way, offering something special to customers depending on the time of year. If you’re in food, there’s seasonal produce, or perhaps your service or product offering slightly changes depending on the temperature/weather or people’s priorities and needs at specific times of year, whether it’s the lead-in to Christmas, school holidays or the end of the financial year. Think about what your customers need at different times and get creative to solve their problems with interesting solutions.
- Subscriptions/memberships
If your business lends itself to a membership/subscription model or a loyalty program, it’s a wonderful way to establish an ongoing relationship with customers. Through that membership you can then provide special offers, rewards, run competitions and more, which keeps customers feeling connected with your business, interested as well as valued.
- Special programs/products/guests
Can you invite a guest expert to offer something different, a guest speaker who extends the bounds of your expertise, a special twist on your product or a customised version of your service that allows people access to personalised attention they can’t get elsewhere? When offering something new, it doesn’t have to be an ongoing, long-term part of your business – it can be a once-off special for a limited time. These sorts of offers can also be a great way to experiment and test the waters to see if there is an appetite amongst your customers for something new.
- Put a new twist on existing products/services
You don’t necessarily need a brand new product or service to keep things fresh. Sometimes applying a little creativity to how you combine, name and market your existing offerings can keep things interesting enough. Perhaps you shorten a few of your services and make an ‘express’ package that can be completed in a lunchbreak, for example. Or can you combine different products in a quirky way to suit a particular theme? Use your imagination and get clever with what you already have on the table.
- Be real and have some fun
Nothing bores people more than a business that lacks personality, compassion and a sense of humour. As a small business, you’ve already got a leg up in the relatability department. Don’t be afraid to show a little personality through your social media and other direct communications to keep things entertaining. Engage, interact, make people smile…it’s often the little things like those that mean the most to your customers.
Get creative as your imagination is your only limit and many of the ideas don’t have to cost much, some won’t cost you anything at all.
