What Makes You Different?
This is the fundamental question of any business. What makes you different and why should clients choose you?
Many businesses tout customer service, something that anyone can claim, but it tends to have a different meaning within each industry, let alone individual organizations.
Others tout the lowest price, but this is a losing battle every time, as you can always be undercut by someone or another.
For industries that have been comoditized, the the thing that makes you different usually comes down to one thing: the relationship.
Building relationships with potential clients and referral sources is the fastest way to get in front of a decision maker. Enter social media.
While many organizations use social media to try to score "leads", this is a waste of time unless your organization has a brand that was well-established years ago (or you have a massive ad budget). Instead, small and medium-sized businesses have to play a different game.
Start a conversation.
Engage with your followers.
Educate them on your industry to show how a company like yours solves their problems.
At the end of the day, your customers aren't buying from a business. They're buying from the person they connected with.