Almost every industry is full to the brim with competition. Rather than accepting you’re a small fish in a big pond, you must work hard to blow your competition out of the water.
While you might compete with many brands each day of the week, there are steps you can take to secure their customers, rank above them in the search engines, and stand apart on social media.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, read the following advice on how to become an industry-leading brand.
Table of Contents
Don’t Imitate Your Rivals
Imitation can lead to your brand blending in with the crowd. While you should monitor your rivals’ actions both on and offline, you must differentiate your branding, products, and services as much as possible.
There is no reason why you can’t embrace some of their marketing tactics to attract new customers. However, you must differentiate your company when it comes to:
- Messaging
- Visual identity
- Tone of voice
- Pricing
- Products
- Services (e.g., free shipping, loyalty programs, etc.)
Improve the Customer Experience
Separate your company from its competitors by providing an unrivaled customer service experience. To do so, you’ll need to gather your customers’ honest feedback, which can help you make the appropriate changes.
For example, you could turn to Rocketseed to introduce one-click surveys on your company’s email signatures. It will provide your customers with an opportunity to rank your service from 1 to 5 stars. The quick surveys can help your business identify issues with your customer service experience. You can then rectify one or more problems as soon as possible to maintain or set industry standards.
Identify Your Brand’s Benefits
Give your customers reasons to pick your business over its rivals by identifying your brand’s various benefits. For example, your company’s best qualities could include:
- An exceptional customer experience
- Shipping perks (e.g., same-day or free shipping)
- A unique product
- An item or service that improves productivity
Once you have pinpointed your company’s strengths, you must promote them on your marketing materials, website, and platforms.
Publish a Blog
Showcase your industry knowledge and expertise by publishing an informative blog. It’s an effective way to share your company’s experience and insights, which can increase your brand’s trust and credibility. A well-written, updated blog can increase your search engines’ presence and establish your company as a thought leader.
Increase blog engagement and credibility by publishing:
- Case studies
- White papers
- How-to articles
- Listicles
- Industry interviews
- Guest articles
- Infographics
Get Involved with Your Community
Supporting local communities and charitable organizations could increase your brand recognition and trust. The public will be happy to support a brand that gives back to its community, and they’ll get to know the real people behind the company.
There are various ways to support local organizations, as you could:
- Sponsor a local team or an event
- Donate your time and skills to charities
- Provide internships to local talent
- Donate products to charitable causes
- Host a fundraiser
The above options could humanize your business, increase brand recognition, and improve your company’s credibility and reputation.