Everyone likes a story. You can take this idea down a few different paths.
Tell your story: From embryotic beginnings where late nights were the norm; where coding was done whilst travelling to and from work on the train; where it seemed that market research was the main business activity, to this thriving business with offices in 3 continents and exposure to 24 industries across 42 countries.
Highlight customer interactions – tell everyone their story. How do they interact with your business, achievements, local celebrities, or recipes using your goods and services.
Use photos of you and your customers. Add quotations from customers, staff and suppliers. This all adds a level of engagement that people cannot resist.
As soon as you have made the connection with your customers, your community, you automatically add value to your surroundings. Everything that you represents is seen as value-adding to the general community that you are servicing. Customers will see this as an absolutely redeeming feature and will be drawn to your business without any additional advertising and marketing; dare I say it, like moths to a light.
But this idyllic state does not happen overnight. There is a fair amount of effort required to attain this level of trustworthiness. There will be a significant commitment in time and other resources, which sometimes might appears to not provide any return. If you persist however, the return will happen.
But can this be replicated elsewhere?
If you have ambitions of expanding to multiple retail outlets, then a business based on community engagement might be difficult to replicate elsewhere. Many times, personality is the catalyst that enables a business to grow and mature socially. If additional outlets are the goal, then your product mix may not be enough to mimic the original success; correct staffing will be your most important asset and, based on this model, the most important marketing tool.
