09/ 19/ 2007
Did you start your business because you saw something that you could do better than your competitors? Perhaps you knew you could offer a product or service they lacked. Or maybe you leapt ahead without giving your competitors much thought. Either way, figuring out how to make your company stand apart and marketing this uniqueness to customers is crucial for your business success. Here are some steps to get you started.
Analyze your strengths
Go back to your original business plan to see how you marketed the idea for your business. Have you lived up to your expectations? Are there strengths that you've developed since then that are worth noting? Take this opportunity to conduct an honest assessment of your business. While you can observe the places in which your business has fallen short, your main purpose here should be looking at the strengths that can serve as the foundation of your marketing campaign.
To ensure that your customers agree with you regarding these perceived strengths, it would be worthwhile to conduct a customer survey. Ask customers to fill out a questionnaire in which they tell you what they like about doing business with you as well as suggesting any areas for improvement. This should give you a better idea of what you should be playing up in your communications with the public. If an element of your business that you perceived as a strength comes up repeatedly as an area for improvement, refine this area before using it in marketing materials.
Do some research on your competitors
Visit your competitors' stores and Web sites, read their press and perhaps buy a few sample products if that would help you compare them to your own. If you can do so without putting your customers in an uncomfortable position, inquire about their past experience with similar service providers. You don't need to ask for the name of the business (though some customers may volunteer this information), but find out why they were dissatisfied with their previous provider and decided to make the switch to you.
Once you've gathered information about your competitors, compile the information. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Can you honestly say that you offer something they don't?
Reassess
If you haven't done enough to give your business a unique identity, figure out how you can do so. If your singular strengths are already apparent, the next step is to decide how you can market these strengths to the public. Below are four common areas in which businesses often focus their efforts in setting themselves apart.
- Quality: Ultimately, the quality of your products and service are the key to repeat client business. So bringing the quality of your business to the forefront is a tried-and-true marketing angle and one that might work for you. Does your business offer diversity in product uses or services offered that the competitors don't? Do you offer a guarantee that trumps the rest of them?
- Convenience: This factor is second only to quality in many customer minds. If your competitors make clients pick up their products, you could deliver. You could try guaranteeing a quicker turnaround on jobs, as long as this doesn't compromise your quality. Look back at your research, study the competition's means of providing service and see if there's any room for improvement.
- Uniqueness: This can have to do with your product or your business itself. Even if the products and services you offer aren't all that different from those of your direct competitors, there are endless ways you can make your company stand out. For example, allow customers to place orders online or market yourself as the environmentally friendly provider in town. One key differentiation should be enough to place your identity clearly in your community's mind.
- Customer outreach: Oftentimes well-established businesses assume their customers will stay with them and grow a bit complacent in attracting new customers and giving regulars extra incentive to stick around. So you could possibly make your company stand out through customer loyalty programs and coupons that benefit you both. For example, you could offer a free or discounted service to a customer who refers new business to you.
While you can incorporate any of these four angles as well as endless others into your business, find the one element you want to bring to the forefront of your marketing materials and stick with it. Discuss this in all of your ads and communication with the public (like in the "about us" page of your Web site). This will go a long way in giving your business a brand and setting you apart from the rest.
