Rare, indeed, is the business that doesn’t have serious competition to contend with. The vast majority of business owners aren’t in a position to ignore the others jockeying for their customers. As such, it’s important to occasionally ask yourself: in what way are you competitive?
Product and service differences
Take a look at your products or services and compare them to some of the others on the market. Is there a key distinction between them? This is your unique value proposition. If you can identify this, then you can tailor your marketing, sales pitch, and much of your strategy around it. You offer something that your competitors don’t. Of course, this only works if that distinction is in your favour.
The market you’re targeting
Finding a niche to differentiate yourself from your competition isn’t always strictly about the service or product you’re offering. It can also be about which market you’re targeting. If there’s a part of the broader customer base that your competition is missing, then cornering that market (if it’s large enough to sustain you) can be a very strong competitive strategy indeed. A little market research can help you find which segments aren’t currently being dominated by anyone else.
The price game
Not all businesses can afford to undercut their competitors at every turn, but it is important to be smart with your pricing and to be reactive to changes in market pricing in general. You might be able to price some of your more popular products more generously, for instance, while having certain other products be higher in price. Gathering price intelligence is crucial. You need to be able to at least keep up with what your competitors are offering so you can match or beat them.
Your customer relationship
It might not sound like it’s worth as much, but having a great relationship with your customer base can truly be the deciding factor in which brand comes out on top. This isn’t just about cheerful and positive messaging, of course, but a strong customer support system that addresses issues and takes their feedback seriously. Invest time and resources into keeping your customers happy beyond the products and services themselves.
A strong brand
When there is no real and discernable difference between what one company offers and what the other offers, which is the customer going to choose? The one that offers the strongest branding, in most cases. Working with a marketing agency can help you transform your whole approach to customers, standing out in a way that your competitors can’t match. A strong brand identity also makes it easier to recognise your company, giving it prominence and even a legitimacy your competitors might not have.
When you find the answer to what is keeping you competitive, then you can better focus your strategy on differentiating yourself making use of that factor. If you can’t find what’s keeping you competitive, then you might have identified a problem that is holding your sales performances back and take some steps to address it.