RatePoint

Successful Small Businesses Don’t Grandstand.

It never ceases to amaze me at the sheer level of self-aggrandizing statements that businesses make. In today’s business world, they could be more detrimental to a business’ online reputation than helpful, especially when they’re nowhere near the truth.

Business owners who find themselves at the bottom of the ladder, either because they’re small or new, find it very difficult to resist the temptation to call themselves “the best” or “#1″ or “the first.” This strategy worked well in an era when there were no resources or tools for consumers to quickly determine the quality of a business.

In today’s business environment, saying that you’re the best may be a clear sign to a consumer that you’re not.

I took a few minutes to surf around the net and here are a couple quick examples of what I found on business websites that clearly were not in the top of their fields:

“We are the best web hosting company on the internet today!” Ironically the site that had this statement on it was broken in my web browser.

“#1 in Customer Satisfaction Since 1997″ I’m curious to figure out who these guys dethroned before their 11 year reign at the top.

There are many more examples like this across the Internet, but just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s okay. In every industry, a very small slice of businesses can conceivably call themselves “#1″ or “the best” or even be involved in the discussion. Customers understand that. They’re looking for other businesses because of other qualities such as personalized service, selection, availability and location that “the best” cannot necessarily provide.

Here’s some small business marketing tips to help you avoid some common self-promotion traps:

1. Ask yourself who “the best” is in your industry.
   If you come up with a different answer than your own business, your customers probably will too. Calling yourself “the best” in this case is almost as good as telling your customers that you’re a liar. This also applies to calling yourself “the first” which can sometimes be even more damaging, because there’s only one, and if it’s not you…
2. Look at the best in your industry. Now look at your own business.
   What sets you apart? It’s important for small business owners to identify the qualities that set themselves apart from the big-names and highlight them appropriately. Larger more established companies cannot compete on every level with a small business. Pick and choose your battles.
3. Beware of qualifying statements.
   Too many can make you look foolish. I just may be the best short suburban business blogger drinking coffee in Needham, MA. Then again, I may be the only one right now.
4. While you may not be the best, you can strive to be the best.
   Customers become loyal, returning customers when a business makes every effort to make sure their experience is a good one. There is no harm in letting your customers know that this is your goal. It’s your job to make sure that the effort is consistently there.
5. As always, go with the gut.
   If you feel funny writing some text on your website or promotional material or have questions about it. — you’re probably onto something.

By focusing more on the better qualities of your business and taking a realistic approach to self-promotion you will spend less time trying to justify the position of your business in the market to your customers and more time selling to them.