What makes you stand out and sets you apart from the competition?
If you think of the most well-known brands you will immediately conjure up an image and opinion of that business and that is a clear example of creating the competitive edge that fuels your success.
Ask a Chicago digital agency, for example, and they will be able to tell you the key ingredients that are often needed for marketing success, often by focusing on the key selling points that help you stand out from the crowd.
Here are some key pointers to discovering your edge.
Great customer service
It’s not rocket science, in simple terms, if you give your customers exactly what they want and deliver a fantastic experience in the process, they will keep coming back for more and tell others about your business.
Great customer service can really help to set you apart from your rivals and if you make it your ethos to approach your business on a customer-first basis it can make a fundamental difference to your success.
Keep them in the loop
Another absolute customer service basic that so many companies fail on is good communication.
New customers can often come to your business with low expectations in terms of communication based on their previous experiences with rival businesses.
This is your opportunity to shine. From the onset, it is vital to communicate with your customer at every point in the transaction process and afterward too.
So many customers complain about a lack of communication and an inability to get hold of someone to talk to. Reply promptly and efficiently to every customer and it will often give you a competitive edge.
Give them deals
It is in our DNA as a customer to love a deal and if you develop a reputation for offering plenty of perks and incentives for doing business with you that is often a winner.
You should always appreciate the power of the deal when it comes to helping you to stand out from the crowd.
If you are able to combine regular discounts, incentives, and rewards along with great customer service and excellent communication you will be well on the way to maintaining a strong edge over your rivals.
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your rivals
The cold, hard reality of the marketplace is that there will always be another business competing against you for the same customer.
It is really important to acknowledge this fact and make an honest assessment of what your rivals do better than you and what they don’t do well, based on customer feedback and reviews.
Do the same analysis of your own business and see where you can improve and surpass your rivals by doing something better than them, whether that involves pricing, customer service, or anything else that seems to be integral to the purchasing decision process.
The secret ingredients to success are not really that secret when you stop and think about it, so focus on what makes your business so great and make sure your customers think the same way about you.
