As a business owner, you’re fully aware of your competition. Even if what you offer is extremely rare or unique, there is always some form of competition out there somewhere that could get a leg up on you.
We all face it. So how do we come out on top? How does your company, in the sea of competitors, rise above the rest?
A Call to Sweat the Details
I submit that a key factor is in whether or not you sweat the details.
That’s a saying – “sweat the details” – because details are hard. Details take effort. Details are just as difficult to pull together as they are easy to leave undone. But when it comes to running a company, it’s worth soaking your shirt to get them done.
Here’s why:
Details Communicate Excellence
Our brains are wired to make snap judgements. When a client or customer notices the stain on your tie, the sloppy clean up on the jobsite, the multiple typos or misspellings in your emails, or the crinkled business card you handed them, they’re going to judge you. It’s what humans do. And it’s not going to be good.
Even if everything else about their experience with your company was excellent, it doesn’t take much to destroy it all.
If you can’t get the small things right, can you really be trusted with the big things? Put a little effort into those small things and you’ll be communicating excellence to even the most judgemental of clients.
Details Prove You Care
Your customers want to feel cared for when they’re dealing with you. Even if you never actually interact with them personally, they’ll know they matter to you because of the care you give the details. If you don’t care, why should they?
Customer service is an obvious avenue through which you can show your customers that their needs are important to you. But long before they officially qualify as a customer, you can communicate that you care by putting effort into the details from first meet to final sale.
Details Stir Up Emotions
Probably the most incredible example of details stirring up emotion is all the YouTube videos of people unpacking Apple products. It’s an experience so exciting that people want to watch other people experiencing it! Why? It’s all in the details.
Elicit the emotions of anticipation, loyalty, excitement, trust, and even love. Your products or services can stir up all of these emotions and more when you think through the details and go the extra mile to do them right.
Details Add Up to the Big Picture
Clients or customers may not know exactly why they love your services or your products so much. They may not be able to pinpoint the minute details you’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into, but they’ll know they’re pleased. And that’s the bottom line.
All of those little details (and the big ones, too!) add up to who you are. They pull together the masterpiece that is a thriving and successful brand.
So go ahead and get a little sweaty while you leave the competition behind.