Many people’s dream is to become a successful entrepreneur. This is how many of the largest companies in the world started. One person’s ambition lead to a small business that later expanded into a global empire.

However, succeeding as a small business, especially these days, isn’t necessarily easy. 50 percent of new businesses fail within their first five years. With that sobering statistic in mind, below are five strategies you can use to help ensure that your business is successful in today’s tough marketplace.

Develop Your Own Niche

While many small business owners simply repeat what has already been successful, there is no guarantee you can achieve long term success that way. For one, the market may already be crowded with direct competitors who sever the same exact product. Some of these competitors may have been around for decades or even a hundred years. Overall, you need to create your own niche as a business. While you may not be able to invent a wholly original business idea, you at least need to differentiate yourself from the pack in the minds of consumers.

Make Customer Service a Priority

At the heart of every successful small business is excellent customer service. This is even much more so the case today. If your customer service is poor, you can bet that dissatisfied customers will complain about it online. They will also give your business poor reviews and low ratings on business review websites. This digital word of mouth could destroy your business very quickly.

Focus on Localized SEO

Digital marketing is extremely important to surviving in the modern business world. Search engine optimization must be a major part of that. If you serve certain geographic areas, localized SEO must be a priority for you. Google has indicated that 46 percent of Google searches involve local intent. If you want your business to be found, you need to make sure it comes up near the top of these searches.

Obtain a VoIP IP-PBX Platform

Something else you may want to use as a modern business is a voice application. Thanks to smart phones and gadgets like Amazon Alexa, voice apps are becoming increasingly ingrained into society. Businesses can take advantage of this trend by increasing their profit margins through customer apps and other services. Investigate VoIP infrastructure security software solutions that can provide these services through the cloud while protecting your customers’ private information.

Succeeding as a small business is in no way easy. In today’s fast paced business environment, surviving for the long term is more difficult than ever. Consider the four suggestions above to give your small business an edge over your competition.