The question all of us as small business owners ask is, “How do we stand out from our competition?”
And to be honest, we really should be asking this question on a regular basis. When we get comfortable with how we do business, we tend to get complacent. And when we get comfortable with doing the same things over and over again, we get bored, and so will our target audience. Eventually, our business becomes obsolete if nothing ever changes.
So what are some things you can do right now to stand out from our competition?
Be great at what you do.
I know this might sound like common sense, but it needs to be said again. Be great at what you do! Not just good…be GREAT. If you want to stand out from your competitors, don’t try to meet the industry standards, but instead, try to exceed them.
When working with a particular industry years ago, we got told, “Well, that’s never been done before.” or even worse, “It’s fine, it’s good enough for this industry.” Oooh, that made us cringe.
Hold yourself and your business to a different standard.
Keep taking classes or courses to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in your industry!
When you are an expert at what you do, you’ll attract GREAT clients (and consistently) because people will want to invest in the best!
Follow through on your commitments.
We know things come up that are out of our control, but when you commit to meeting certain deadlines or completing project tasks, follow through on what you’ve committed to your clients.
If you say you’ll have something ready by Friday morning, have it ready by Friday morning! If you expect a client to pay their invoices on time, pay your invoices to your contractors on time.
And communication goes a long way! If something comes up that keeps you from making that deadline or completing that project, don’t keep your clients waiting and wondering what happened. Talk to your clients so they’re always kept in the loop.
Offer something unique.
People tend to copy their competitors. We get it…we all want to do what’s already working, right? But just think if you were able to offer what your competitor wasn’t. You’d be the first — the trendsetter. You’ll be the leader in your industry, not a follower.
If you know what’s already working, is there something you can do better?
Take the time to research your competitors. What are they offering? What is their service like? What’s working and what’s not working? What’s something different you can bring to the table?
To stand out from your competition, you’ll have to do something that hasn’t been done yet.
Solve problems in a different way.
To piggyback off that, to stand out from your competitors, solve your customers' problems in a different way. There are always creative solutions when it comes to solving a problem. It really doesn’t matter how a problem is solved, what matters is that the problem gets solved.
If you solve a problem in a way that empowers your clients to solve this problem in the future, even better! Setting up your clients to win on their own after working with you is a huge success! This means that you were able to educate them on what to do if they run into those similar problems in the future. And they’ll be so grateful for that!
Be creative with your business.
Think differently! We love this one so much. One of the core values here at Sung & Co is Creativity!
“Imagination and creativity are the traits that fuel the future.” —Edutopia
Whether it’s how you create that program, resource, or post on social media, think through what you can do that no one else is doing quite the same?
What’s a new trend you can start?
Is there something you can do or say to help your target audience see things in a different way?
How can your visuals stand out from your competitors?
How can you set up your program in a way that’s unique to other coaches?
Are there creative ways to create content that keeps your audience engaged?
What “surprise and delight” aspects can you introduce to your onboarding process that makes your clients even more excited to be working with you?
Identify your brand positioning.
Brand positioning is a lot of what we mentioned above, but it also includes a lot of intangible things. It’s how you want your target audience to perceive you. Because our brand is not what we say we are, it’s really what others say about us…
There are several components that establish how we position our brand. It could be our brand personality, our messaging, how we sound…
It’s the brand positioning that helps our target audience decide why they should work with us instead of the other guy down the virtual block.
What are ways that set you apart from competitors and how do you want to communicate that to your target audience?
If your competitors offered the same type of courses or served the exact same audience or built their website with the exact same platform, why would they choose to work with you instead of the competitor?
If you’re struggling with getting new leads because you haven’t quite figured out how to stand out from your competition or how the heck you want to position your brand, get some hands-on help through our free 5-day live challenge!
This challenge is only available a few times a year so sign up to confirm your spot for the next one coming up! Click here to save your spot!
Until next time,
Happy Branding!
