Creating new and exciting businesses that stand out

Dalbir Kaur is the Founder of Makemefitclub, a live app that helps members create healthy lifestyle changes to get fit while also helping UK wellbeing professionals increase their clientele.

Originally working in health, Dalbir felt unfulfilled and began a new journey as a personal trainer.

However, after registering the mental and nutritional barriers her clients were facing – ones that chimed with her own – Dalbir started to look into all three factors and how they integrated with one another.

Thus, Makemefitclub was born.

It is a place where UK wellbeing professionals, counsellors, personal trainers and nutritionists grow their clientele by  providing classes and sessions to members to help them make lifestyle changes in fitness, nutrition and mental health.

Shrevan Marath is the Founder of Work Simplr, a platform that allows students and businesses to find, engage and manage work experience projects.

Shrevan has found considerable success with his company, with Work Simplr recently being acquired by a leading US firm.

However, when it came to initially asking themselves how to make their business stand out, both had concerns.

“We felt we had a great product but there was always a fear of us not being recognised for it,” Shrevan admits. “Since we were a young startup, there was initially a hesitation from large organisations to take us on board.”

Dalbir worried that that people wouldn’t take the time to fully understand the breadth of her company.

“There was a concern that we would be seen as just another fitness app, which we are not,” she explains.

With both Dalbir and Shrevan enjoying success in competitive marketplaces, we asked them to provide us with a few handy tips…

1). Do your research

Have you spent time researching what makes your company different from your competitors? Or addressed what similar businesses are already running and looked to find a gap in the market?

For Shrevan, his business was already out there, but “in bits and pieces that focused more on academic training rather than real-world experience.”

Therefore, Shrevan did his research and realised that students were missing out on valuable work experience opportunities due to there not being sufficient technical infrastructure being available to measure and monitor these offers.

Dalbir also made sure she conducted extensive research.

“We did competitor research and the consistent thread we found was that there was not one app on the market that onboarded professionals and members on an all-live platform and hosted classes and sessions to connect the two.

“They all have pre-programmed content or a small subset of employed individuals.”

2). Make your customer your key focus

When searching for how to make your business stand out, Dalbir informs business owners to emphasise the customer experience.

“It’s extremely important,” she says. “We went through the pilot phase and pivoted when we found trends in our customer feedback.

“Even on our app today, we are regularly asking for feedback so we can improve our service. Your customers are key. When creating a business, think about the customer journey and experience.

“Bettering this can lead to business longevity and brand loyalty.”

Brand loyalty is also something Shrevan highlights when asked how to differentiate your brand.

“Have one-to-one communications with your early adopters and understand what they like/dislike about the project you have built,” he explains.

“You also need to understand and look to improve the user experience. This is a crucial part of innovation. Look for new ways for things to be done and how you can deliver results in as few clicks as possible.”

This is a point that Dalbir echoes, although with caution.

“Being forward thinking is important, but understanding when to implement changes is even more vital,” she says. “Doing it regularly can lead to a lack of brand identification and customer loss.”

3). Choose your platform wisely

If you’re asking yourself what makes your company stand out from your competitors, perhaps you’ve got the wrong approach to targeting customers. This is a key point that both Dalbir and Shrevan emphasise.

“Social media is great for brand awareness but tracking how this can lead to customer acquisition is even greater or budgets can be spent mindlessly,” she explains.

“Understand what platform is directed at your target audience, the types of ads that gain the most interaction and the length of duration they need to be in order for you to attain the right insights.”

Shrevan agrees.

“It depends on who you are targeting,” he says.

“If your target customer lives on social media, that is where you have to be. If they are at events and expos, that’s where you go.”

Essential support on how to differentiate your brand

Both Shrevan and Dalbir are benefitting from Birmingham City University’s Higher Level Skills Match (HLSM).

The programme, part-funded by the European Social Fund, helps businesses identify their skills requirements, create personalised skills development plans, identify training opportunities and more.

HLSM provided Dalbir with talented students and graduates to help her get her Makemefitclub app off the ground.

“These placements helped to facilitate the launch and launch event for Makemefitclub,” she explains.

“This included sourcing quotes, building key relationships with partners, informing key documents for promotional filming, event planning, developing marketing documents for press releases, and creating content for social media and our landing page.

“We were extremely impressed with how quickly they were able to adapt to the professional environment and produce quality work.”

Finding yourself wondering how to make your business stand out? HLSM offers a range of support services and programmes to give you the support needed.