Do you ever consider why customers should conduct their local business with you? What is your USP? What makes them repeat and loyal customers? Do they refer other potential customers to your place of business?

Due to the state of the economy today these are some great questions that every business needs to give lots of thought to. They need to evaluate themselves and determine what they're doing well and what they need to improve upon.

Let's first take a look at your USP- unique selling proposition. Your distinct marketing edge must be what differentiates you from your competition. So what are you known for? If that's a tough question for you to answer than you better work on that aspect of your business immediately.

There are too many choices for consumers today for them to patronize an average company. Perhaps you have a unique product line. Or are you known for outstanding customer service? Maybe you have lower prices than your competition or your service and product quality is much higher. These are all examples of a USP that may enable you to stand out from the crowd.

There are two things that will also always cause customers to want to do their local business with you- quality and great customer service. These are the things that will prompt them to refer others to you.

Think about your own experiences. If the prices are low but the quality and customer service aren't so good, how excited are you to do business with a company?

Good quality products combined with great customer service is a formula every business would be wise to build on- especially today. These are things you can tout in your advertising as something you are very proud of.

However, there will need to be a high level of commitment on your part to attain them. Even though these are things you can control it can be still be a challenge to accomplish them. You must have total team buy-in to the concept of providing great service and offering quality products.

This comes from making your employees feel important and a part of team success. The more you include them in the business and empower them the better your odds are in achieving this. And the better they feel about your company the better they will interact with your customers.

That's an important statement. Studies have shown that more customers "fire" a business because of poor treatment by employees. And no business can afford to lose customers.

So take a look at what you currently do that enables you to stand out in your local area. Determine what you want to do that will prompt customers to conduct their local business with you. And then make darn sure that everyone on your staff is committed to achieve those goals. ________________________________________