Top tips for showing your business to advantage.
People go into business for many reasons, but there is always a story behind the specific product or service they’re selling. People want to buy from someone who understands them and their needs, whether for a designer handbag, professional painting services, or web copy.
One of my favorite things is to talk to passionate people about work they love doing. My favorite questions lead to stories that reveal not only what they love about what they do, but how they see their clients and customers, who their ideal client is, and – just as importantly – who’s not. This helps everyone – business owners and customers – find what they need!
Ten Essential Questions to Ask.
Here are my favorite questions to ask when I talk to an entrepreneur about their work.
- What’s your story? Because people are so rarely asked, let alone listened to when they share about the meaningful events that shaped their business path. It’s so valuable to know the history behind the first sale, to know someone had a love nurtured by generations or fell into a role and found it filled them with delight! Different customers relate to different stories. The best thing businesses can do to create lasting customer relationships is build genuine connections.
- What drew you to this industry or role? Starting a business doesn’t happen by accident, and everyone has a story about why they started this particular kind of business. This tells us more than that a baker loved cooking with his grandmother and gets to the deeper heart of what makes it worth running a bakery.
- What do you enjoy most? This bridges the gap between the product and the people. As a writer, I’m able to take a friendly conversation and share what is special and unique about a specific business owner with their potential customers. I help connect someone who has a need with the person who can best meet it. In my conversations, I find time and again, what drives business owners is the ability to be of service. The answer to this question shows how they see their work doing that.
- What does your day-to-day look like? Day-to-day, business owners help their clients, and each part of running a business is in service to that reason for being. This tells customers what they can expect when they come into the shop or schedule a consult. And what this specific business’s priorities and processes are that may be different from their competitors.
- What sets you apart? Separate from the last question, this highlights what the business views as most important. Just as this will vary from business to business, even within the same industry, it will also vary from customer to customer. Highlighting what a business owner sees as the most important part of their work is a clear call to customers with the same values and perspectives. It’s also a valuable signal to those who are not the right fit. Rather than seeking to be everything to everyone, the most successful business owners lean into their strengths and provide the best possible service to the right customers.
- What are the common misconceptions about your work? Every industry has things that are obvious to those in-the-know, but clear as mud to those outside. This question helps clarify and define what’s important about the product or service and how it helps its target audience.
- What do you wish more people knew? This question goes beyond clarifying incorrect beliefs to what makes a product or service truly valuable and special and what sets it apart from similar offers.
- What’s your favorite part of the job? Often what business owners enjoy most is the rapport with customers, building a piece of work, and a job well done. But their favorite part of the job is the transformation they see in others’ lives.
- What’s the most challenging part? Running a business is not always easy. Rather than revealing a shortcoming or failing, considering the challenges of a particular business can reinforce human connection, and help customers understand why occasional delays and interruptions may occur.
- What else do you want people to know? This allows the business owner to share final thoughts or touch on any topics they may not have already mentioned. This may also include things like storefront hours and location, how to engage services, or any other call to action.
A business profile can enhance your client relationships.
A business profile describes what a business does, to generate interest and draw in customers. I’ve written many profiles of small businesses and found the best way to help people connect with their ideal customers is to share a bit of the person behind the brand.
A business profile can be a meaningful way to help small businesses connect with their local community and ideal customers. Whether writing for your own business or someone else’s, thoughtfully digging into these questions will clarify the motivations, priorities, and strengths of the business. That can help highlight what a business truly has to offer its ideal clients and turn return customers into lifelong customers.
