Leverage Your Team Advantage

Posted by Erin Meyer

Rare is the business that enjoys the luxury of having no competition in their industry or market. In addition to selling your product or service, you need to offer some exclusive benefits or advantages buyers can enjoy by doing business with your company. Lower price, faster delivery, and better selection are all great selling advantages businesses can offer, but they are not necessarily unique.

The one thing every business offers that is positively unique is its team advantage. From the highest levels of management to the entry-level staff, your team represents your company, and is part of the package you are selling. No matter what the size, having a team of employees who are loyal, enthusiastic, and committed to the company’s success will greatly enhance the quality of your business, and subsequently increase sales.

An important foundational step in developing the exclusive advantage your team offers is making sure they understand the mission of your company. Having a better concept of the company goals and aspirations will help employees to better understand the role they play in achieving them. To support this, you can develop your mission statement into a simple and succinct mantra, which can be applied on all levels as a business philosophy.

The chart below provides ideas for developing and using your team advantage:

DEVELOP YOUR TEAM ADVANTAGE	USE YOUR TEAM ADVANTAGE
*Communicate with your team.* Keeping your employees informed about what is happening within the company and your market will make them feel more like a team rather than just hired help.	*Personalize your image.* Mentioning your employees in your marketing material shows your prospects that they will be working with real people, rather than an anonymous, unaccountable website.
*Appreciate your team.* Spotlight hard work and outstanding efforts. Let team members know when their contributions have resulted in a satisfied customer or gaining new business.	*Brag about your employees.* Use your company blog and social media to tout the achievements of your workforce. A company that appreciates its employees is likely to appreciate its customers.
*Get your team involved.* Provide opportunities for your employees to offer suggestions for process improvements, product ideas, or other input they may have regarding their role at the company.	*Generate new marketing ideas.* Many of your employees interact with your customers, but in different ways than you do. They can offer insight into what your customers need and request.

DEVELOP YOUR TEAM ADVANTAGE

USE YOUR TEAM ADVANTAGE

Communicate with your team.

Keeping your employees informed about what is happening within the company and your market will make them feel more like a team rather than just hired help.

Personalize your image.

Mentioning your employees in your marketing material shows your prospects that they will be working with real people, rather than an anonymous, unaccountable website.

Appreciate your team.

Spotlight hard work and outstanding efforts. Let team members know when their contributions have resulted in a satisfied customer or gaining new business.

Brag about your employees.

Use your company blog and social media to tout the achievements of your workforce. A company that appreciates its employees is likely to appreciate its customers.

Get your team involved.

Provide opportunities for your employees to offer suggestions for process improvements, product ideas, or other input they may have regarding their role at the company.

Generate new marketing ideas.

Many of your employees interact with your customers, but in different ways than you do. They can offer insight into what your customers need and request.

To brain-storm additional marketing ideas or learn more about how we help can make your online marketing more effective, give us a call or fill out our contact form!