How to Stand Out Against Your Competitors

Everyone is in the race to achieve one or the other thing, and the interesting thing here is that everyone wants to win. But it is also important to consider that only ‘wants’ cannot get you what you wish to achieve, for that, you need to make some serious efforts. 

One mistake that most businesses do while starting fresh is to forget that there are numerous others running in the market of the same niche. And, they have fierce competition out there. Thus, it is important to know that even the smallest of businesses can give you a tough competition and if you ignore them, it’ll be a big mistake for your brand. 

There is only one tactic of getting the desired success, and that is to be different from all your competitors. By being the same, you will only find yourself lost in the crowd and there is no coming back after. Thus, your strategies along with whatever you provide must be unique and qualitative, so that people tempted to see what you have in the box for them. 

This post is dedicated to helping you out with how you can stand out against your competitors and build your name in the market. After reading it completely, you will get acquainted with tactics that will not only make you different but also ensure the good attention of your target audience. 

Why it is important to stand out in the market?

It is true that most of the businesses don’t prefer to stand out and the reason is their thought process which tells them that being different is annoying as people will keep them aside. But this is not always the case and being different never means to put a hat with joker attire to get the attention of people. What we mean to stand out in the crowd is with your marketing tactics and the products or services you provide.  

We are living in a digital age and here, being different but with quality is admired by people. They love to try new things. It’s not the time where people used things for decades and still, they found them brand new. The time has changed and so does people, they now get bored quickly and want something new. And that’s where it is important to stand out in the market, as people will recognize you easily and urges to see what you have to offer. 

We are not unaware of the fact that there are hundred thousand of businesses of the same niche and if you are planning to open one, then how will you survive in that tough competition despite have top quality products. You will be new and people are already interacting with other brands that are there for years. The simple answer to this question is to be different. Show people how you are not the same and how choosing you will solve their purpose in a much better way. Now you can make a place between those hundred thousand businesses that too with the attention of your target audience. 

What you should do to stand out against competitors?

• Give people what they want

Standing out does not mean that you are offering things that are of no use for your target audience or things that they are not in need of just to be different. The first rule you need to follow here is to give people what they are looking for but with added benefits. That’s how you can say that ‘we are different.’

For example, there are many socks making companies out there, both branded & local, but the one that provides socks with some amazing prints especially of something trending like animated characters could grab the attention of people. Similarly, as we are facing this COVID-19 pandemic and wearing a mask is a must. Thus, offering matching masks with shirts and suits could make you different in the crowd and get the desired attention. 

With all this, one thing you need to ensure is fair pricing and good product/service quality.

• Create a need that no one would have thought of

We just might sound offending if we say that most start-ups are only following the trend that their competitors are, and that will not make you any different. It’s good to analyze what your competitors have done and what they are doing, but following exactly the same will get you nowhere. Success is all about being different with better quality. 

Let us say, for example, most people face the problem of stinking feet. Now, if the socks provided by a company can help people with that, why would they not choose it? Here, the company has created a need by telling people that their socks can reduce the problem of stinking feet. Thus, instead of buying socks from other brands, people will try that company’s socks. 

Another good example we could give is of a company that provides glasses. They have come with a glass that protects eyes from the rays coming out from digital devices like laptops, PC, TV, and mobile phones. Now, the maximum percentage of the world’s population is working on PCs and using mobile phones. So, they feel it a need to buy such glasses that can protect their eyes.

Similarly, your brand also requires to create a need that people find useful and it could be as simple as free delivery with no minimum cart value. 

• Never forget some traditional practices

Now you might be thinking that we are talking about standing out from the crowd and suddenly, why traditional practices came into the picture. Remember, standing out doesn’t mean to just grab customer’s attention, but it also means to maintain a good relationship. Thus, it is important to be an old school in some places to show a good gesture to your clients for their support. 

Such practices could be sending personalized emails to customers for their purchase, giving exclusive discount coupons for your prime customers, wishing them on birthdays and anniversaries with you, thanking for their reviews, and even for choosing you for the service. These are some of the examples by which you can make good relationships while standing out of the crowd. Considering this will also create a personal touch with your clients and hence, you will earn their loyalty.

• Do things differently than your competitors

From the start, we are saying that to be different, you need to do different things. As you are surrounded by numerous competitors and they are also trying out everything to make a strong market presence, you need to work out things differently to stand out. To ensure this, even your smallest step to show that you are different could be defining. For example, you can set your price lower than competitors, offer your service round the clock or for extra hours than what competitors offer, or have something unique in the inventory that no one has. 

For that, you need to research deep about your competitors and get insights into what they are up to. 

• Be an expert before you announce

To stand out different from the crowd, you need to specialize in what you are doing and know what, how, and why of your business’s niche. Because you can only deliver the best service when you yourself know about what you are offering. Having half or false knowledge about your business’s niche will not only downgrade your position but also break the trust of your clients. In this way, you won’t be able to get the attention for good but surely for the wrongdoings. 

So, it is important for you to understand everything about what you are doing before making any announcement. 

• Ensure stand out branding

Branding for any company is very important as it decides whether people are going to like it or not. Thus, it should be different enough to get recognition for good along with the attraction. With branding, the two most vital things you need to consider are the brand logo and its color. The logo of a particular brand is essential to get recognition. Hence, it should be unique, eye-catching, and easily recognizable. 

Another thing that we did talk about the color of the brand’s logo. Choose the color wisely as it could simply make or break the company’s brand recognition. Bright color that can easily grab a customer’s attention could be great and if there is more than one color, choosing contrasting ones could do the job. 

A lot depends upon the brand’s logo to get attention in the crowd; thus, it should be interesting enough that people could easily differentiate from others. 

• Create a better experience for customers

Customers want to get heard and get their problems solved on time. Making this your priority will not only get you recognition but reference from happy customers as well. The most important thing that you can do to stand out from the crowd is to offer a great experience to customers. 

Not only with solving queries, but you can also improve customer experience by providing top quality products along with great service. To be different, giving a year or two of free service could do the job for you. Another thing that you can do is to offer ease to connect with you via apps or by implementing chatbots. Remember, more satisfied the customer is more loyal he/she will be. 

• Tell people how you are different from others

Keeping things simple will help you a lot in standing out different from the crowd. Thus, you need to tell people about why and how different you are from others. Because that’s how people will clearly understand what extra or improved you are offering and that will be helpful in improving your brand’s recognition. 

You need to show people with real-life examples that, how different your products are from the competitors. This is to create more trust and make people believe that what you are saying is true. Remember, don’t expect that people will know it on their own, as this could be one of the biggest mistakes that you can do. 

• Online presence is must

Being different does not mean that you forget or ignore the most popular digital marketing channel. Yes, we are talking about social media. It is one such marketing platform that is a must for every business, be it small or a big one. Even no business can think of ignoring social media. 

So, whatever tactics you are using to stand different from your competitors, you need to tell people on social media. The key reason behind this is the fan base of this channel. Every smartphone user of all age groups is present on social media platforms and the number is huge, i.e. more than half of the world’s population. So, showcasing your brand on social media will give it a huge exposure and when people come across about how better it is from others, you can imagine the impact it will create. 

To ensure a strong online presence, you need to be active there and communicate with people by solving their queries and creating contests. Just don’t forget that social media is one of the best channels to promote any business. 

• Be loyal to customers

In this fiercely competitive world, you will find nothing for free. Now, if we talk about getting loyalty of customers, we need to be loyal to them as well. That’s how the process works. Now what we mean here by being loyal to customers is to give rewards for their support and loyalty. Considering this will show how much they matter to you and in return, they will maintain their trust towards your brand. 

You can show your loyalty to your regular customers by sending them free gifts or exclusive discount coupons regularly (twice a year or more as per your budget). This will get you more engagement and reference from a genuine audience and this will positively affect your brand plus help in making you different from others as well. 

• Ensure people that they are safe with you

One of the simplest things that you can do to ensure people’s safety with your brand is to offer a money-back guarantee. You have faith in your product, then why not use it to get the faith of your customers. This is how people will see you different from others and they will be assured that their investment with you is safe. This could be the defining tactic to make your brand popular and get amazing end results. 

People want complete assurance for whatever they spent on and giving money-back guarantee will drive customers from your competitors as well. 

Another tactic you can use to make feel people safe is by giving them a free trial to your product (wherever possible) before they buy. This will also increase the conversion rate and you’ll surely enjoy that. 

• Consistency is the key

This is one of the most important things that you need to consider to make a different identity of your brand. Be consistent with whatever you do and the most important is excellent quality. Make sure that you consistently share relevant posts on your social media account along with active interaction with the target audience.

Also, it is important for you to be consistent with the exclusive discounts you offer to your regular or prime customers. This will ensure that the tactics you used were not only to grab customer’s attention but you value their importance as well. 

• Try getting positive reviews

People are becoming smarter and most of them prefer doing online shopping because it is convenient & they get lots of offers. But, do people always look for offers? No, the straight answer to this question is a big NO. People also love to check experiences of past customers of a particular brand before deciding to purchase a product and that’s where most brands fail. 

Thus, to stand out against your competitors, you must have a bunch of positive yet genuine reviews from your customers. For that, it is necessary for you to encourage clients to tell you about the experience they have with your brand. This could be done through emails or via your social media accounts. While on the other hand, if you have brick and mortar presence, then you can simply ask customers to fill a short review form during billing, and not many will refuse. This way you’ll also be able to get email ids of customers that can later be used for your marketing funnel. 

• Give a bumper prize periodically

This might sound a bit costly but similar will be the returns. As per your budget allows, try conducting contests annually or half-yearly in which the winner will get a bumper prize. You can the prize as per your convenience, be it a short holiday package, a vehicle, a premium subscription to your brand, cash, or even feature the winner with your brand. These are just the examples; you can choose anything that attracts customers towards your brand and tempt them to refer to others as well.

This is another great idea to focus light on your brand especially when there are lots of competitors waiting for the same opportunity. A bumper prize will increase the loyalty of your target audience and you might see a significant spike in the numbers of visitors on your site as well. Plus, showing the prize on your social media account will also see huge numbers of shares. 

Thus, with this strategy, everything will turn on in your favor and you’ll reap great benefits for all your efforts. 

These are the strategies that could help differentiate your brand from the crowd and get the direct attention of the target audience. Being different becomes a vital factor now with the competitors all around and these above-mentioned tactics will surely work out for you. 

You need not be the biggest brand to stand out

Many of us might have thought in our mind that only big brands can stand out differently against competitors. But this is completely a wrong thought, as even start-ups can make themselves different from what their competitors are offering. All they have to do is consider the above-mentioned points closely and implement what they can at the right time and the right way. 

One advantage small business, especially the startups have is that they are new, and have nothing much that will create a mess for them in the market. Thus, it is easier for them to use different strategies to stand out from the crowd. If the products/services they offer are of great quality and match with what they have told to the audience, the chances are high that will succeed with their unique strategy and in less time, they will stand strong even against their toughest competitors.

Small businesses can give tougher competition to the big ones than those, that are there in the market for years. If strategies are implemented in the right way, they can be the biggest threat to the position of big brands. Thus, it is foolish thinking that only big brands can make efforts to stand out from the crowd. As small businesses have much less to lose than the big guns. 

The Bottom Line

Having competition is good, as it tells you your weaknesses and strengths. Thus, we could say that competitors help businesses become better. But this is also true that you cannot rely only on your competitors to improve and get the attention you want. That’s where it is important to make efforts to stand out against your competitors. 

Now, when we talk about being different, we mean it in a positive sense, not the negative one. Being different means that you are offering value to your customers that no other brand is and your products/services are unique and giving extra benefits than competitor’s products/services. There are a lot more ways by which one can become different from others and we have tried to cover most of those in this post. 

Standing out against competitors is not only for getting the attention of the target audience, but it is also to stay in the hunt in this competitive world. You cannot rely on being someone who is just doing everything the same as others are, because, in that way, you won’t be able to show the quality you serve, it doesn’t matter how better it is. 

We expect that you would have got enough ideas on how you can make your presence felt in the market and what strategies will be the best for you to adopt. So, what are you waiting for? Just have a thorough look at your current tactics and find out what needs improvement where to make a difference that everyone admires.