How can small businesses differentiate themselves from larger competitors?
Mohsin Najafi
Nov 15, 2025
In today’s competitive marketplace, many small businesses do not have the resources to compete with larger businesses on price. However, they can differentiate themselves by providing a much more enjoyable customer experience, to create “Raving Fans.”
What are Raving Fans? They are customers who are so delighted with a company's products or services that they become passionate advocates for the brand, sharing their positive experiences with others. This goes beyond simple satisfaction, as they are loyal, engaged, and will actively promote the company, often for free, through word-of-mouth and social media.
At its core, to create Raving Fans, you need two things: Customer Trust and Customer Delight.
Let’s break this down with an example from an industry we all recognise: an optician’s practice.
Step 1: Build Customer Trust
Customer trust is the faith that you’ll deliver on your promises. For an optician, this might mean:
Being accurate and thorough in eye tests.
Clearly explaining results and options (without pressuring upsells).
Offering transparency on pricing so there are no surprises when someone collects their glasses.
Trust is earned through consistency. If every patient leaves confident that their eye health is in good hands, you’ve laid the foundation for long-term loyalty.
Step 2: Create Customer Delight
Trust secures the appointment. Delight creates fans for life by going beyond the expected. For an optician, this could be:
Sending a text or email with lens-care tips after someone picks up new glasses.
Noticing that a patient struggled with a certain frame and proactively suggesting a lighter fit on their next visit.
Offering a free glasses clean and adjustment when someone pops in to say hello.
These little extras don’t cost much, but they create moments of surprise and warmth that patients remember and share.
Step 3: Systemise Delight into Operations
Customer success isn’t about luck; it’s about repeatable processes. For an optician, it could look like this:
Map the Customer Journey
From the first call or booking form to the eye test, frame selection, glasses fitting, and aftercare, identify every touchpoint.Consistency is Key
For example, after every eye test, staff could follow a script: explain the results, suggest options at different price points, and reassure the customer they can take their time.
Step 4: Move Beyond Transactional Feedback
Most opticians will ask for a Google review. Useful, but transactional. A stronger approach is relational.
For instance, one week after a patient collects their glasses, the receptionist could call to ask:
“Are the lenses comfortable?”
“Do you need any adjustments?”
“How are you finding the new prescription?”
This shows care, provides valuable feedback, and creates trust.
Final Thoughts
For any business that wants Raving Fans, this doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the product of intentional, consistent processes built around trust and delight.
For an optician, that means accurate testing, clear communication, thoughtful extras, and a feedback loop that proves you listen. The same applies in any industry: when you get this right, customers don’t just buy, they advocate.
So ask yourself: Where in my operations can I systemise trust and create moments of delight? The answer could be the difference between being just another provider, and being the one customers tell stories about.
