Do you dream of out marketing your competition?

Now, more than ever, you can out market your competition. Any business that is dedicated to really understand the competition is poised to win.

You can out market your competition by taking the following steps:

Identify your top competitors.

Don’t select just one type of company when you develop your list of competitors. Select some of the biggest and most established names in your industry; some of your local competitors, and some of the new comers to your industry. Be objective. Don’t love or hate your competition. Look at them with a clear head. Study them. They are the key to your success. What makes them unique? What is their USP? How do they differentiate in the market?

Contact us now to help you differentiate from your competition.

Find out their pricing.

Are they more expensive or cheaper than you? What might be the reasons for the differences in prices? Are they offering different prices for different customers? What services and guarantees are included? Are your prices competitive?

Pricing isn’t everything, but it is an important part of business. Even if you don’t want to compete on pricing, you should still have a clear understanding of your competitors’ pricing.

Find their customers.

You will learn more from the customers of your competitors than from anyone. You can find them on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Talk with the customers to find out their level of satisfaction.

Learn about how they attract new customers.

What industry or demographic are they targeting? Are they relying on referral marketing? Are they visible online? Do they have better search engine results than your website? Is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) part of their Internet marketing strategy?

Visit trade shows.

Are your competitors exhibiting at trade shows? Visit the same trade shows and check out their booth. Observe how they interact with attendees. See how people interact with them.

Find out where they advertise.

You can learn a lot from your competitors by finding out where and how they advertise, ethically. You can learn about how they attract and retain customers, where they advertise, what their pricing structure is, etc. Your marketing strategy should include a profile of your competitors’ marketing strategy.

How do they differentiate?

What makes your competition better? Why would someone hire your competitor over your firm? What makes them unique? Can you do better?

Become the obvious choice.

You can’t be just as good as your competition to attract their customers. You have to be much better. You have to be so attractive that you are the obvious choice.

Update your image.

Get your website updated, your business cards and marketing materials. Create a fresh new look about your business.

Stop wasting money on marketing.

Do you know what works and what doesn’t work? Find out. Only spend money on what yields measurable results. You should spend money on marketing, but only if you can show that it works. If you are trying something new, go small until you have proof that it works. Then, you can step it up.

Stay active on social networks.

Most companies are really good about creating Facebook and Twitter accounts, but that’s where it ends. Your Facebook page has to be a living breading extension of your business. That’s the only way it works. Keep your social accounts dynamic. Post often and keep it interactive.

Ignore email marketing at your peril.

With all the new forms of marketing out there, email is still one of the best bang for your buck. Aggressively build your email subscriber list. Send emails at least once a month. Keep is short and personal. Don’t waste your time writing a long newsletter. People don’t want to read yet another newsletter. Write short text emails as you would write a personal email to a friend.

Form partnerships with your competitors.

Instead of hating your competition, see if you can work with them. You might be able to build partnerships. For example, you might offer a service your competitors don’t offer. If you can find a way to refer business to each other, you could have a long lasting partnership.

Contact us now to help you differentiate from your competition.

photo credit: English Schools Athletics Championships-1013