We are the Saleh Family (aka Will Saleh and Sana Saleh), founders and owners of Ontario, Canada’s Lala Hijabs, the original tie-dye hijab company. As part of the QuickBooks Ask the Expert Series, we're here to talk about one of our favorite subjects: How to make your business stand out from the competition!
How our business stands out from the competition.
As small business owners, we started our company knowing that we did not want to offer a cookie-cutter product. When we started out, there were already thousands of hijab companies out there, and they all had one thing in common: nothing set them apart from one another. Our motto from the start was, “How can we be different?”
Everyone was offering the same thing—nude-toned hijabs—and we were over the whole neutral trend. We stepped outside of the box and decided to offer bright, bold, and colorful hijabs, filling an obvious gap in the market. Then we went a step further and started making hand-dyed hijabs with tie-dye designs—something no one else was offering, anywhere! It was a huge leap and risk, but we knew in our hearts that we just had to go for it.
Offer your customers something that will impress them from day one.
There are so many ways to stand out from other businesses like yours besides offering a unique product. Your business model and how you present your business to the world are great ways to set yourself apart.
For example, can you offer eco-friendly packaging? This is something we did right from the start of Lala Hijabs. We only packaged our hijabs in tissue paper or compostable packaging. We also decided that we wanted to go plastic-free, so all of our shipping materials and mailers are also compostable. This simple change in our business model has made us so different when you compare us to any other hijab company out there.
Another example is to make your website stand out from other shopping websites using bold images or color themes. This will draw in customers, giving them a great first impression and making them want to return to shop with you. First impressions are everything, so be sure to give your customers FOMO so they can’t stay away.
Offer customer service SO GOOD that they always come back for more.
For starters, treat them like family! When a first-time customer makes their first purchase we send them an email with a photo of our family—thanking them from the bottom of our hearts for supporting our small business. It makes it personal and gives our customers a sneak peek into who they are supporting by purchasing from our brand.
We do our very best to make the entire experience special from start to finish. From sending personalized emails to hand-signing every packing slip, we do our best to make our customers feel taken care of. We don’t treat them like a number; we give them the best shopping experience they’ve ever had.
We know this is the reason we have countless customers who come back every single time we launch a new hijab or accessory collection. We do everything we can to keep our customers loyal to us, and our hard work has paid off. Customer loyalty is everything—so do everything you can to gain your customers’ trust and appreciation every step of the way!
Thank you for reading about our story. Catch us on all socials under the handle @lalahijabs, and be sure to remember that you are unique and can bring so much goodness to the world—all you have to do is stand out!
