10 Proven Ways to Make Your Business Stand Out From Competitors

 

1. Deliver extraordinary service.

Plenty of businesses say that service is what makes them different. However, just saying it is not enough. You have to deliver extraordinary service that you can’t get anywhere else.

For instance, look at Fleet Feet. They custom fit your running shoes. They watch how you walk or run and recommend the proper shoe depending on how you pronate. They even allow you to run in the parking lot to see how they fit and feel. On top of that, they will let you return the shoe weeks or months later if they don’t work out.

2. Address customer pain points. 

If you want to win customers over, a great way to do that is to alleviate their pain. Let me give you a great example of this in action.

If you’re like most people, you don’t particularly enjoy going to the dentist. The lights, the smells and the sound of drills don’t make for a pleasant experience. That’s why many people avoid going to the dentist altogether.

3. Do business differently than your competitors.

If you want to stand out from your competitors, it pays to do business differently than they do. Finding and exploiting holes in their business model is a great way to set your company apart.

That’s exactly what our client, EZR Management, does with their property management business.

Most property management companies have an in-house maintenance team to make repairs for their properties. This sounds like a good idea in theory, but in reality, there are a lot of problems with this approach.

The work is often sub-par, the work isn’t warrantied and clients are often overcharged for the work. Because property management companies make money on repairs, they are incentivized to do the work quickly and cheaply.

4. Focus on a narrow niche.

When you try to serve everyone, you serve no one. This is especially true with service-based businesses.

Adapting your model or approach for a wide variety of businesses is not cost effective for your business and it makes it harder for people to know if your company is a right fit.

5. Create a powerful offer or guarantee.

Guarantees are a great way to reduce the perceived risk of buying your product or service. Eliminating the hesitation for making a purchase can lead to more sales.

Plus, a guarantee can also make your company seem more trustworthy and likable.

For instance, Zappos is famous for their year-long return policy. It reduces the barriers to buy their shoes because you can take an entire year to decide whether you want to keep the shoes. Not to mention, shipping is free both ways.

6. Create a memorable culture.

Creating an amazing company culture cannot only help you attract and keep top talent, but it can be a powerful marketing tool as well.

Take Rustici Software, for example.

They have built an incredible benefits program, called Jenafits, named after their company concierge, Jena. She handles everything from laundry and cleaning services to booking flights and restaurant reservations for employees. It’s her job to make life easier for the team so they can focus on doing excellent work.

7. Create a cause marketing effort.

Giving back to the community through a cause marketing effort is a fantastic way to make a name for your company, while also doing some good.

Essentially, cause marketing is the idea of creating a partnership or relationship with a non-profit or cause. The idea is that the business lends its time, money and expertise to help promote the non-profit. This support helps the non-profit and the business also benefits by being affiliated with a worthy cause.

8. Become a social business.

If you want to take your corporate giving to the next level, you could take your efforts one step further to become a social business.

There are more and more companies cropping up that have this kind of approach. One of the most well known examples is TOMS, the shoe company known for their “One for One” effort that helps one person in need with every pair of shoes you buy.

But, I also recently learned about Conscious Step, a company that makes socks for causes that matter – such as fighting hunger, planting trees or combating HIV. They are using something simple as socks to help change the world.

9. Be quirky and weird.

A few weeks ago, the post office returned a Christmas card that I had attempted to send Ryan Hanley in December. I had the wrong address, but it took them six months to send it back to me.

10. Surprise and delight your customers.

I always love the story that John Janstch shares about a coat his wife purchased at REI.

When she first wore the coat, she slipped her hand in the pocket and found a piece of paper. But, instead of showing the inspection number or some other product information, the slip of paper said, “You are a goddess!”

That tiny, thoughtful act made this coat stand out. And, as a result, it made them want to know more about the brand behind this coat.

SOURCE:flybluekite.com