Even the biggest brands live by values that have made them successful for many years. The biggest brands give us great lessons that any business owner can learn from. It’s not just a product, vision or culture that makes a business successful; it’s everything.
In the fast-paced, ever-evolving business world, there’s a wealth of knowledge to be gained from brands that have expanded rapidly, gone global, secured lifelong customer loyalty, and continue to outpace competitors. These brands have perfected the skills of capturing market share, engaging audiences, and maintaining a competitive edge. By studying these success stories, business owners can gain valuable insights, fresh ideas, and practical lessons that can be applied to their ventures, ultimately driving growth and success.
Even though these big brands have a big budget, multiple locations and hundreds if not thousands of staff they all started somewhere as a small business. Brands have to start from the ground up and use everything they can to get to the top. Below we cover lessons from brands you can apply to your own business.
This article by FOR® summarises everything you need to know about how top brands develop and implement strategies for success.
Have a Great User Experience
User experience is key to any business with digital channels. Airbnb is the perfect example of a brand-building lesson: give your customers a great user experience and they’ll stay. Airbnb needs people to visit their site and book travel destinations.
On the landing page, Airbnb has a simple bar at the top of the screen for travellers. Users fill in their location, check-in/check-out date and number of guests. An optimized search delivers results in thousands of listings. Airbnb also gives personalized recommendations and high-quality photos of the guest homes. It’s never been easier to book a trip and it’s more personal than booking a hotel.
Airbnb gives customers the true power of user experience and they’ll stay in this travel industry. Let customers browse easily and create positive experiences and they’ll be loyal. Keep your customer’s journey smooth and you’ll see success.
Elevate User Experience for Your Small Business with These:
Know your Audience
Gain deep insights into their needs, wants and pain points. This helps you tailor your offerings and marketing to their specific needs. Knowing your audience means informed decision-making, targeted campaigns, refined products and experiences, stronger relationships and competitive advantage.
Simplify the User Journey
Minimize steps, eliminate complexity and make it easy for users to navigate your site and business. Boost user satisfaction and conversion rates by streamlining processes, creating intuitive interfaces and gathering feedback for continuous improvement. A smooth user experience is good for your brand and business growth.
Personalization and Customization
Tailor the experience, deliver personalized recommendations and allow customization. By using data analytics and user feedback businesses can create engaging interactions that leave a lasting impression.
Subscription Based Revenue
It takes guts to review your business model and what needs to change. Even a successful business should review what value they have brought to the customer and what the customer is paying for. A great example and our business lessons learning curve is Amazon, a company that has changed the way we do business. The retailers and other businesses that compete with Amazon have to keep up with their new tricks and ideas.
One of the strategies Amazon used to become a trillion-dollar company was to shift to subscription-based revenue as part of its marketing and business model. Amazon launched Prime in 2007, with unlimited one-day delivery on a wide range of products. It was the first membership Amazon customers could get. Amazon has since expanded Prime to unlimited two-day shipping on millions of products and started to roll out more. Then we saw Prime Pantry for household products and Amazon Fresh for groceries delivered to your door.
Here are some ways to start a subscription-based revenue for your business:
Identify your target market
Does a subscription-based model fit your target market and industry and is there a demand for recurring services or products? To implement a subscription-based model assess market demand and target audience for recurring services or products. Research customer needs, preferences and industry trends. Analyze competitors and industry saturation for differentiation. Make informed decisions to meet customer demands and drive business success.
Develop a compelling value proposition
Communicate the unique value and benefits of your subscription offering, and how it solves customer pain points and provides convenience or personalized experiences. Tailor your messaging to your target audience and differentiate your offering from competitors. By articulating the value customers can expect to receive you can attract and retain subscribers and foster long-term loyalty.
Offer flexible subscription plans
Provide different subscription tiers or options to cater to different customer needs and budgets, encourage long-term commitment and allow customers to choose the plan that suits them best. Different tiers/options allow customers to choose based on preferences, financial capacity and engagement level. It increases satisfaction, promotes loyalty, captures a wider customer base and requires continuous evaluation for relevance and appeal.
Reward Customers
Having a good user experience isn’t the only way to make loyal customers. Rewarding your customers for coming back gives them another reason to stick around and is one of the most important lessons learned for many businesses. Let’s look at what Starbucks has done over the last decade. Customers could get either a card or download the app to make purchases. They were rewarded with incentives every time they made a purchase.
The My Starbucks Rewards App has a point system where customers can score free drinks and food items. The app also lets you order ahead of time and pay before pickup. It didn’t take long for customers to get hooked on Starbucks because of this personalized experience. Today 64% of companies say their loyalty program is the way to connect with customers. Other companies are quickly following the Starbucks customer incentive model. The business lesson learned is to reward customers and they will come back.
Reward customers and they will be loyal, satisfied and long-term. Remember to tie your rewards to your business goals and adjust as customer needs and wants change.
Stay Consistent
One of the reasons McDonald’s has been around for so long is consistency. Customers know what to expect when they come to a McDonald’s experience. With nearly 40,000 locations, the golden arches are everywhere.
McDonald’s promises affordable fast food and fast service. They added breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert to the menu. No matter where you are, you expect that consistency when you go to McDonald’s. Even when McDonald’s tests new items, they make sure they can be produced fast.
So the lesson is, no matter how big your brand gets, stay consistent. McDonald’s never forgot who they were. They always stayed with fast food, staple menu items, and fast and good service. Everyone knows what to expect when you pull up to eat.
Implement these Business Lessons and Succeed as a Business Owner
In today’s business world, there is a lot to learn from the big brands that have grown and have customer loyalty. By looking at the strategies and habits of these brands, small business owners can implement these valuable lessons to apply to their businesses.
Remember these are not one-size-fits-all solutions, but rather guiding principles to apply to your industry, values and business goals. Continual learning, testing and adapting are key to staying ahead and relevant in a fast-changing market.
So apply these lessons from the big brands and you’ll be set for growth, customer happiness and long-term success. That’s you ready to tackle the obstacles and grab the opportunities. If you want to become the top brand. You can work with a specialist like FOR®’s Branding and Marketing Agency.
