2082: How Your Local Business Can Stand Out and Attract Customers AND 3 Key Elements Of Business Safety by Michael Levitt

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[00:00:52] This is Optimal Work Daily. How your local business can stand out and attract customers. By Michael Levitt of breakfastleadership.com. A local business needs to attract local customers. You don't have the advantage of being able to cast out your net as far as possible. But having a smaller pool to fish from can also be a benefit.

[00:01:16] When you're focusing on bringing in local customers, you can get to know them better, be more attentive, and become part of the local community. But standing out as a local business can be tough, especially if you're competing against larger businesses that have more resources. Fortunately, there are plenty of things that any local business can do to stand out and bring in the customers that they need. 1. Use Standout Signage When you have a physical business location, getting customers through the doors can definitely be a challenge.

[00:01:46] That's even more the case when your business isn't in a very obvious location, perhaps tucked away from the nearest road or path. The right signage can do a lot in this situation, helping to direct people to your business. A monument sign is a great option if you need to direct customers down a driveway or side road. It can be useful any time your main building is set back from the road or sidewalk. 2. Put Your Business on the Map Local businesses need to make sure they're making the most of digital marketing tools these days.

[00:02:15] Your business might be looking for local customers, but those customers will still be getting online to find the goods and services that they want. One of the most important things you can do is ensure your business is findable on Google Maps and similar apps. When people are using map apps to search for what they need, you want your business to show up. Be sure to set up and maintain a Google My Business page. 3. Be Part of the Community Local businesses have a real advantage in that they can make themselves a part of their community.

[00:02:45] Larger corporations might try to do this, but they can't really be present in local communities in the way that smaller businesses can. There are lots of ways you might choose to make your business part of the community, helping to familiarize your brand with your audience and grow your reputation. You could get involved with a local charity, sponsor local events, and consider various other ways to increase your business's visibility and build a good reputation. And 4. Offline Marketing Materials

[00:03:12] Digital advertising is a cost-effective way for local businesses to advertise, but they are also in the perfect position to market offline, too. Distributing print materials such as flyers, brochures, or business cards is still an effective way for businesses to market their goods and services, especially local businesses. You can reach your customers directly, and print materials often have longevity that a digital advert doesn't provide. Consider earmarking part of your marketing budget for print marketing and similar methods.

[00:03:41] Local businesses have a number of great advantages when it comes to marketing and bringing in customers. Make the most of the fact that your business is local and can be there for local people. The Three Key Elements of Business Safety By Michael Levitt of BreakfastLeadership.com Safety is a broad term and concept, and can be applied to many things.

[00:04:07] For example, safety is of course considered an essential means of protecting against exposure to danger, such as by placing a wet floor sign over walkable surfaces that have recently been cleaned. This way, your clear, consistent signage prevents someone from slipping up and injuring themselves. But safety could also be considered as a spectrum, and not necessarily in preventing injuries. For instance, a business investment could be considered more or less safe based on the potential risk factors and rewards involved.

[00:04:36] Contingencies are how you plan for safety outcomes that can be relied on. In other words, having a policy for most possible outcomes, performing capable risk assessments in every situation, and taking this seriously is essential. But where should you get started as far as that's concerned? In this post, we'll discuss how to consider the three key elements of business safety and what that may mean when it comes to your operational planning. 1. Premises Safety

[00:05:03] Making sure your premises is safe is an essential element of operating it correctly. Integrating fire safety evacuation measures, following the essential lift regulations for its installation and upkeep, keeping worthwhile lighting so people can find their way around, and integrating worthwhile signage are certainly the first steps. From there, you can integrate additional measures, like fire doors, to prevent the spread of a fire, keeping windows locked and making sure they're strengthened correctly,

[00:05:31] and of course, making absolutely certain that this area is cleaned properly each day. This will make a huge difference to how your use of a rented or owned premises reflects your values as a firm. 2. Sensitive Data Security Sensitive data security will make a profound difference in how trustworthy your business is. When customers use your service, and especially online, they may be trusting you with their financial and personal data, including their addresses, contact information, credit card numbers, and more.

[00:06:01] It's important to keep that in a secure database. Sometimes managed IT services can help you with this. 2. To apply cybersecurity patches often. 3. And to train your staff to avoid phishing attempts. This happens to the best companies, so nothing less than a proactive approach is required here. And 3. Product Safety While liabilities insurance can certainly help you should a product fail or difficulty arise,

[00:06:28] it's true that the reputational damage associated with a poorly constructed or tested product can be hard to recover from. This is why essential quality assurance measures that inspect everything which is manufactured or serviced by your firm is crucial. You must also implement stringent safety features, clear instructions on how to use your products, and manufacture them in a safe and clinical environment as much as that's possible. On top of this, following essential regulations, ensuring that ingredients or materials are listed,

[00:06:58] and working only with verified suppliers is the essential path forward here. With this advice, you're certain to benefit from and deliver the three key elements of business safety. You just listened to the posts titled, How Your Local Business Can Stand Out and Attract Customers, and The Three Key Elements of Business Safety, both by Michael Levitt of breakfastleadership.com. Whatever your thing. It could be anything.

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[00:08:24] And thanks so much to Michael Levitt, who is the founder and chief burnout officer of the Breakfast Leadership Network, a San Diego and Toronto-based burnout media firm. He is a certified NLP and CBT therapist. By the way, NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming, and CBT is cognitive behavioral therapy. And he's one of the world's leading authorities in burnout recovery and prevention. He's also a Fortune 500 consultant, number one best-selling author, and the host of The Breakfast Leadership Show,

[00:08:53] a top 200 podcast on Apple Podcasts. He is a two-time top 20 global thought leader on culture with Thinkers360 and a former healthcare executive, CIO, and CFO overseeing $2 billion budgets. And you can come visit him online. You can find him and a lot more at breakfastleadership.com. And big thanks to Michael for letting us share his work today. But that is it for today. I thank you for listening, and I'll catch you back here tomorrow for the Sunday show, where your optimal life awaits.