These days, pretty much anyone can start up a business. This makes the market in most industries incredibly fierce and therefore difficult for businesses to try and stand out from competitors.
Amazing Customer Service
If you want to stand out from your competitors, you can’t just have good customer service. Every company aims to have good customer service, instead, you must have exceptional customer service. Find out what your competitors are doing and go above and beyond. Offer services that competitors may not, such as a customised service or a longer return policy.
Find out what issues customers have with your industry and try and make your business the best experience they’ve ever had in it.
Do Business Differently
If you want to stand out from competitors, you can’t just do the same thing that they’re doing. Find flaws in their business model and use this to your advantage.
Focus on a Narrow Niche
Trying to serve or appeal to everyone will get you nowhere. Pick a service that you are going to excel in and a market you are going to target and work until it is perfected.
Strong Offer or Guarantee
Offering or guaranteeing your customers something that they have not been offered before is a great way to coax them into buying into your brand. A guarantee can also help give consumers a sense of trust in your business, as long as you keep up your end on the deal. Building trust with consumers is one of the most important aspects of any marketing strategy, as loyal customers are usually seen as more valuable than one time purchases.
Company Culture
Company culture says a lot about a business. Not only will having a positive company culture allow you to attract and keep talented employees, it is also a great USP for your marketing strategy. Some companies are known for treating their staff well, these companies appear more trustworthy in the eye of the consumer.
To establish a good company culture, you need to make sure that employees care about the business and are proud to work for the company. Some businesses take part in fun team building exercises and offer staff perks in order to ensure staff are happy and engaged.
Fight for a Cause
It’s good for businesses to give back, focusing a marketing campaign on giving back to the community is a sure fire way of getting people engaged in your business. Don’t just choose a charity or program for the sake of it though. Ensure that you are following your brand identity and actually care about what you are fighting for, otherwise, the campaign can look fake and turn away consumers.
Surprise Customers
The element of surprise is one of the best marketing tools that a business can use. Surprising consumers with something nice will not only touch them but if/when it is shared online (as many things are these days) it’s got the potential to go viral. An example of this of a coffee shop sending someone a coffee to their office after they tweeted about how much they love the brand. Celebrities often do this to fans to keep up a brand image and some examples of this are sending pizza and snacks to fans waiting outside their hotel.
