Did you know that 90% of businesses fail within the first five years?

With a lack of differentiation among entrepreneurs, the figure isn’t surprising. Most new companies can’t navigate through the competition that’s common in every marketplace.

For a business to boast of sustainable success, standing out from the competition ought to be a priority. Considering there are many large businesses with the same products as yours, competing favorably is quite tricky for startups. Nonetheless, it is possible.

If you want your products to stand out in a competitive market, you’re in the right place. Here are seven practical strategies that will propel your brand higher despite the market competition.

1. Work on Your Personal Brand

You need to stand out for prospective customers to notice your offers. Today, people are paying particular attention to connectivity. Your presence should be felt so that people can embrace you as a brand.

Activities such as blogging, attending to networking events, and appearing in podcasts will have people putting a face behind your widely-advertised brand. It would be great to find ways of adding value to your industry.

You can focus on researching some trends and sharing information through platforms such as LinkedIn.

While at it, ensure that your personal brand remains free from any negative reputation. Unfortunately, most consumers tend to relate you to your products. With a bad reputation, you’ll lose the confidence of potential customers.

2. Provide Exceptional Customer Service

A recent survey established that 96% of customers wouldn’t complain about your bad customer service; they will just leave and try out your competitor. If you’ve been wondering how to be competitive, improving your customer service will have significant impacts on your business.

The earlier you realize that the customer is king, the better for you.

Treating customers like royalty should be your mantra. Legendary customer service isn’t only a burden for the service industry. Customers want to feel valued in all sectors and business settings.

You can improve your customer service by reaching out to customers to know how they find your services. Note down any areas that customers feel dissatisfied. Building trust with your clients is the surest way of standing out in a competitive market.

3. Be Innovative

One of the best ways of beating the business competition is by remaining innovative. You shouldn’t be comfortable despite having a range of products. Keep introducing new and unique processes, solutions, and products that your competitors won’t be in a position to match up.

Constant adoption of emerging technologies will have your businesses providing exclusive solutions. You can decide to take advantage of mobile apps or social media to get closer to your target audience.

Whatever you do, ensure that you grab your target market’s audience extraordinarily.

4. Differentiate

What’s your unique selling point?

You should assume the role of a customer and establish whether you’d buy from a business that has the same offers and strategies as yours. If there’s nothing that differentiates you from your competitors, it will be hard for your business to break even.

One recommendation by Dr. Dan Schneider is to have a direct and clear selling proposition that will make your company sparkle amidst the competition. Seek to know more about your competitors to know how to differentiate. You’ll find several gaps that you can fill.

If they don’t offer home delivery services, you can differentiate your company by providing home delivery services. Services such as free consultation, follow-up, friendly return policy, and 24/7 availability are some of the aspects that you can consider for your business to thrive despite being in a competitive market.

With time, customers will start appreciating the extra mile your business is taking to ensure their satisfaction.

5. Gifts and Promotions

Gifts are an incredible way of showing your customers you appreciate and value them. You can offer gifts or promotional discounts to increase your traffic. This marketing strategy will go a long way in making customers feel valued.

More importantly, gifts and discounts play a critical role in promoting brand awareness. The gifts such as t-shirts, caps, or mugs should be branded to ensure your logo or name is out there.

You’ll be surprised by the number of people who will know about the brand through these gifts.

For new businesses, it would be best to go slow on the gifts, especially if you’re in a financial crunch. You can give your customers cards or rewards such as bookmarks, which shouldn’t have you breaking a bank.

6. Advertise Widely

Advertising for your physical or online store is one of the primary ways of navigating through market competition. Offline approaches, such as brochures and newspaper ads, should complement digital marketing.

With the growing internet use, consider increasing your online visibility.

The first step should be the creation of a social media profile and a locally optimized website for your business. You should also have your company listed on directories like Google My Business. The online interaction you have with potential customers will determine whether or not they will convert into sales.

If you’re unfamiliar with digital marketing, hire an expert.

Advertising your products in online platforms goes beyond posting an image of what you’re selling. You should know more about SEO and other elements of digital marketing that sets one apart from competitors.

7. Consider Corporate Social Responsibility

The core responsibility of businesses is to maintain the well-being of their stakeholders. However, you need to do more if you want to thrive amidst the growing competition. It is crucial to make an impact on society through several CSR activities.

CSR programs will make your brand more renowned. Prospective customers are more likely to purchase a brand that they are more familiar with. Your brand will be in the news for all the right reasons, which will be an effortless campaign to propel you higher.

Standing out in a Competitive Market Isn’t Easy

If your company can’t beat the competition, business failure will be imminent. The strategies you can adopt in a competitive market are inexhaustible. Whichever approach you take, prioritize creating value to the customer for you to thrive amidst the competition.

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