No matter what industry you’re in, you’ll always have another business to compete against. Creating a genuine connection with your audience will play a key role in converting them to customers, but how you go about building this relationship will allow your business to be the “winner” in your space.
Here are four ways you can stand out from your competition.
Highlight Your Differentiator
Your business is unique in some form or fashion, and your key differentiator highlights this uniqueness. Every business has one, but not all of them showcase them properly (or even know how to define this). If you’re not sure what exactly makes you different, follow this process:
- Take a good look at any gaps in your competitors’ business model and define how you fill these gaps differently. On the flip side, see which of your competitors fill the gaps correctly, and use their model as a basis for yours.
- Make a list of your business’s strengths.
- Define your business’s niche. Whether it’s a specific target market or fixing an unsolved problem, clearly state what’s unique to you.
When it all comes down to it, find what makes you one-of-a-kind and make sure this is highlighted clearly on your website, marketing collateral, and everything in between.
Utilize Your Customer’s Feedback
Feedback from your customers is crucial for growth and future success, and you should always consider their thoughts to help you stand out from your competition. By learning what’s working and not working with your customers, you can improve your process or products.
When you implement any changes from customer feedback, it will help increase your brand loyalty, gain insight into your products/services from a user perspective, and improve the customer experience as a whole.
There are many ways to gather feedback, ranging from surveys and testimonials to review platforms like Yelp. You can even create a customer feedback email campaign to start the conversation.
Become a Leader Through Content
One of the easiest ways to stand out from your competitors is by creating useful, relevant content your customers are looking for and start engaging with them through this. Relationship building with potential customers begins as soon as someone is introduced to your brand, and maybe times, it starts when they come to your website.
When creating this content, make sure it’s genuine and tailored to the consumer. This will not only build trust between you and them, but it will show you are a trusted industry expert who is willing to educate your audience.
Content is not limited to blogs or other content on your website. Videos, social media posts, and emails are other avenues to explore. The key is to create the kind of content your audience prefers to consume and place it wherever your audience spends their time. By doing this, you will stay top of mind and stand out.
Keep an Eye Out for Industry Changes
Being an industry expert is more than just creating content about it; it’s also about having a pulse on where your industry is now and where it’s headed.
Along with completing your competitor research (such as performing a SWOT analysis, keyword research, and reviewing their reviews on Google), it’s important to have a grasp on trends coming and going in your space.
To give you an example, here’s a trend that has emerged into our industry: A few years ago, having a mobile-responsive website was just a concept and eventually grew into being a website requirement and ranking factor for search engines. It’s something that we’ve followed since the idea started, and now we have many posts dedicated to mobile responsiveness best practices.
Take the time needed to stay on top of what’s happening in your industry. If you can create purposeful content that your audience wants to read, you will instantly be positioned as a leader.
When it comes to standing out from the crowd, while these four tactics are a great starting point, remember this: anything you can do to enhance the customer experience will make you the to-go business in your space.
To learn more about marketing tactics that will help you stay competitive, contact GreenMellen today!
