Starting your own business is no mean feat. 20% of small businesses fold in their first year – mainly due to lack of differentiation. But don’t let this defeat you, as you can beat these odds by following this guide and making your business stand out from the crowd.
By staving off competition, you can guarantee the longevity and success of your business. Here are five ways to set your business apart from competitors.
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1. Take Your Business Online
One way to make your business stand out from the crowd is to go digital. 230 million Americans are predicted to be shopping online by 2021, which is a huge market to tap into.
The vast majority of businesses in the US have a website, but you’ll have to do more than create a company webpage to set yourself apart from your competition. To keep your business at the top of the game, use the latest emerging technology like live chat plugins, social media campaigns, and apps to provide your customers with new processes and solutions.
The gambling industry is a perfect example of how businesses have reinvented themselves to stand out. Draft Kings’ NJ online casino enables players to play while they’re on the move, with a vast selection of games and a generous welcome bonus. The site is also accessible via an app, ensuring they are setting the pace for the competition.
Reinventing your digital presence to keep up with demand like this will keep your business trending.
2. Make Customer Service Your Priority
Dozens of businesses promise great customer service, but don’t deliver. Guaranteeing great service – whether it’s online or instore – will set your business apart from competitors.
A single experience can determine a customer’s opinion of your brand, so deal with your customers’ issues and complaints in a way that makes your business remembered for all the right reasons.
Admitting faults and working with the customer to resolve issues will secure sales and guarantee repeat customers. Amazon is an example of a company with a superior customer service strategy. With over 197 million site visitors a month, the eCommerce company shows that good customer service really does go a long way.
3. Discover Your Niche
Only 50% of businesses make it past their first five years of trading, and lack of differentiation is the main reason for the closure of companies. The businesses that survive are those that have a niche; a USP that sets them apart from the crowd.
With an abundance of services available nowadays, it can be hard to come up with an original business venture. But finding your niche doesn’t have to be about providing an entirely new product or service; it just means finding a gap in the market and catering to it. For example, your business’ USP could be:
- The location you’re based in or selling to
- Your target audience
- Your product/services price point
- Your method of sales
By finding your niche in any of these areas, your business will have something to offer that no other company has.
4. Give Back To The Community
Businesses often have schemes to help their customers, employees, and shareholders, which establish a company as a responsible, reputable franchise. But going one up and providing for the wider community can really set you apart from other businesses.
Cause marketing schemes are a good opportunity to promote the values of your business while doing some good for the community. Cause marketing is often utilized in bigger businesses and is when a company works with a non-profit organization to promote or help their efforts.
But smaller businesses can also embrace corporate social responsibility and work in partnership with local charities or non-profit projects to show goodwill and increase revenue at the same time.
5. Collect Recommendations And Testimonials
If you want your business to stand out from the crowd, customer testimonials can do all the talking for you.
Reviews from satisfied customers will testify to the credibility of your business and encourage others to use your services. It’s easier than ever for customers to review your service, too; Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn all offer the option for customers to leave business reviews.
Customers won’t leave endorsements for your business if they don’t know how to, or if you solicit them to leave feedback. Offer your customers an incentive like a discount or entry into a competition to leave a review instead; a small pay-out will pay off in the end, as the testimonials of happy customers will set your business apart from your competitors.
The Takeaway
With so many rival businesses out there, making your business stand out from the crowd can be difficult. But it’s not impossible – as long as you find your niche and work with your customers and the latest technology, you can make your business a success.
If you are interested in even more business-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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