Sometimes you feel intimidated in front of competitors who have already made their place especially when you start. Thus, to develop your sales, you must win new customers already connected with other suppliers.
Discover, through seven steps, how to outperform your competition !
Observe and analyze your competition
The first step to overtaking your business rivals is to discover who they are and what they offer your target audience. You will be able to identify your competitive advantage and maximize your assets to attract new customers. Naturally, the ideal would be to hire an analyst. Nevertheless, for small businesses that can’t afford it, it’s still possible to gather valuable insights into other businesses through your own competitive analysis.
Entrepreneurs are often focused on trade marks which provide similar goods or services to a common market segment. However, it’s also useful to study companies that have very different offerings, but compete for disposable income from the same demographic.
To outperform your competitors, you need to be aware of changes and anticipate their impacts before or better than others. Indeed, consumer behaviour has been irreversibly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic . Examples include the explosion of online sales, the boom in telemedicine, the sharp rise in the consumption of streaming movies and series, or telecommuting that is gaining more and more ground.
But with the end of lockdown, your prospects will be aggressively targeted by hospitality, beauty, leisure and entertainment companies. They will then start spending again. So you’ll need to persuade them that your business best meets their needs.
Think about your audience and adapt
To win new customers while grabbing those of your business rivals, it’s essential that you understand these changes. If the history, offer and prices of your brand no longer have anything to do with your usual clientele, it will be difficult for you to seduce that of your competitors. By taking a fresh look at your customer base, you can reposition your business to better meet the requirements of potential buyers.
You will also need to take into account consumers whose incomes have been affected by the health crisis. Logically, for them, price will be a key factor that will determine their purchasing decisions. Also be aware that today, the younger audience is increasingly interested in the ethical values of a brand. You can, to do this, rethink the transparency of your supply chain . Remember, successful companies are those that react quickly to change. Those who know how to adapt their products or services better than competing brands will instantly be one step ahead.
With Magileads , attract more prospects with targeted omnichannel acquisition campaigns.
Highlight your strengths
In this step, you are supposed to have identified the points that differentiate your business from its competitors and understood what has changed at the level of your target market. You can then move on to the next one, including promoting your assets that best meet your customers’ needs. Highlight the points that make you unique, namely your distinctive features. This will make you a territory even in a crowded market. These can be features such as your prices, delivery time, product availability, convenience, quality, or customer service.
« Unique Points of Sale (USP) » is the name given to these distinctive features by marketing experts. You need to highlight them. Be careful, however, you need to make sure they are consistent with your entire business, including its website, marketing and public relations, packaging and product design. By focusing the customer experience on these values, you’ll ensure that potential buyers clearly understand the reasons for prioritizing your brand.
Make yourself a better place on the web
The evolution of purchasing behaviors such as the proliferation of e-commerce platforms means that the number of online shoppers is higher than ever. In fact, digital marketing is essential to develop your brand awareness and increase your customer base. However, since your target customers are constantly solicited by advertisements, you must constantly make yourself heard above the noise.
To make direct and personal connections between your brand and your prospects, you need to use the power of social media. You will create virtual communities of loyal supporters. Your social media strategy should take into account that most consumers are looking for support, entertainment, inspiration, and interaction with your brand. Overt sales tactics don’t work anymore, forget about them! By publishing useful, relevant, and shareable content, you can build a credible brand image. Your notoriety will resonate positively in the minds of your competitors’ customers.
Encourage your brand advocates
One of the most effective ways to attract customers from your competitors is word-of-mouth marketing, also known as viral marketing. It’s a fact, a personal recommendation from a friend, family member or colleague can have a powerful impact on consumers. Similarly, online reviews and testimonials are powerful tools for converting a potential buyer into a loyal customer.
You can also convert your customers into true brand ambassadors. Convinced by your brand, they will be able to vigorously defend your brand through recommendation marketing strategies, such as referral programs. This is an inexpensive but highly effective acquisition channel .
Identify market gaps
If your goal is to be a market leader, you need to constantly look for new and innovative ways to fill the gaps in today’s market. Admittedly, this approach often requires a significant investment. However, you are guaranteed to attract customers away from competitors if you can offer a unique product or service. It must respond to an unmet consumer need.
Try asking your customers to tell you about their struggles through surveys or interviews. You can also spend time researching new trends in your industry. It may be that your competitors will offer something similar later. However, if your company was the first to bring a product to market, you will already be an industry leader.
Look to make your customers loyal to the brand
Studies have shown that it is more economical to retain an existing customer than to acquire new ones. It is therefore preferable to create the customer relationship from the first time a consumer has made his first purchase. It is important to encourage repeat visits if you want to generate significant added value .
For example, you can invite customers to be part of your brand by setting up a membership or loyalty program. This technique is effective in creating an emotional connection with customers. It’s much better than a transactional relationship only. Building these connections will inspire consumer trust and brand loyalty.
With Magileads, set up an acquisition strategy based on targeting, base enrichment, animation scripting, and contact scoring for effective lead conversion.
