When you start a business, not only do you have to convince potential customers you can solve their particular problem, but you also have to convince them that your business can solve their problem better than any other company can. Differentiating yourself from your competition in this way is essential if you want to succeed in your niche and build a loyal following of customers. But what steps do you need to take to do so?
Here, 12 business leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights on what new entrepreneurs should do when it comes to differentiating themselves from their competition and what steps they’ll need to take to ensure their success.
1. Define Your Brand’s Story
It is very difficult to differentiate based on features because as soon as you develop a new feature, it is only a matter of time before your competitor will develop the same feature. You cannot last with this strategy of feature differentiation. However, what does last is your story behind starting your company. The more you tell that story, the more your target customer starts associating with it. Positioning stories like “Razer laptops are for gamers,” “ThinkPads are for business professionals” or “MacBooks are for designers” makes you stand out from the competition. This does not mean the other customers will not buy it, but you must focus on your story. Go back to your roots. Figure out why you started. Associate that story with your product. Tell that story to every lead and every customer. – Deepak Syal, GreyB Services
2. Learn How To Market Yourself
I think entrepreneurs should take on a valuable skill set and learn how to market themselves. They should figure out how to connect with their clients on a level that their competition cannot. Many competitors offer the same product, but clients will work with those they feel the most comfortable with and will even be willing to pay extra for that. Once that trust is gained, the most important thing to do to grow and retain your client base is follow through and act with integrity. Always be willing to grow your business to your desires. Have enough bandwidth and capacity before growth so quality does not slip. – Vick Bathija, Commerce CPA, LLC
3. Take A Customer-Centric Approach
Instead of focusing solely on your competitors, shift your attention to your customers and their needs. By truly understanding your customers’ desires, pain points and preferences, you can tailor your products or services to meet those specific needs. The odds of your approach being identical to a competitor’s is next to impossible. This customer-centric approach will set you apart from the competition because you’ll be able to provide personalized solutions that truly resonate with your target audience. Remember, it’s all about providing unique value and creating exceptional experiences for your customers. So, turn your gaze toward your customers and watch how you stand out from the crowd! – Bill Mulholland, ARC Relocation
4. Understand The ‘One Thing’ You Are Best At
What is the one thing you are best at for yourself, your company or your industry? Differentiation comes from knowing the message you want to share and who you want to hear it. If that message aligns with the actual product or service you provide, success will follow. This is a crowded world, with lots of voices and a lot of noise, but it’s easy to stand out and be different when you understand The One Thing you are best at and then articulate its importance to the audience that desires to consume it. – Harmony Brown, GreenWorks Inspections and Engineering
5. Carve Out Your Place In The Community
Many new businesses fall into the trap of tunnel vision, focusing solely on self-promotion without considering the broader context. Taking a step back and contemplating how your business fits into the community is crucial. Community involvement provides entrepreneurs with an intimate understanding of their customers’ lives. By participating in local events, supporting good causes, and collaborating with community organizations, you gain experience and insights that can inspire innovative ideas for tailoring your products and services to meet customer needs more effectively than your competitors can. The goal isn’t just about doing business, but rather becoming an invaluable and integral part of the community, setting yourself apart as the preferred choice among your competitors. – Todd Bialaszewski, Sell My Car Online
6. Target A Specific Customer Segment
I think the best way to differentiate yourself from your competition is to focus on a very specific segment of customers and grow from there. For example, if you run a spa, you can market yourself as a “stress-relief spa for working moms.” Develop your services around the needs of professional working women and market your services in magazines or mediums where working women with kids are likely to notice you. Similarly, suppose you are running a marketing agency. In that case, you can easily distinguish yourself from the rest of the crowd if you position yourself as a marketing agency for immigration lawyers only, as one example. This strategy is very effective for new entrepreneurs who are just starting, and it allows them to compete with more established competitors and gain new clients. – Feruza Djamalova, Sobirovs Law Firm
7. Observe And Learn From What’s Already In The Market
Learn from as many people as you can and make your own road. So many entrepreneurs isolate themselves, thinking they are recreating the wheel. Instead, observe and learn from what is already in the market. Take the pieces you like and push the boundaries to do it better than others. Today, with the amount of information available, you should never be starting from scratch. – Marjorie Adams, Fourlane
8. Establish Flexible Processes
Establishing the right processes is vital for new entrepreneurs. One big thing we always focus on is building purposefully without becoming inflexible. We want to get as much clarity as possible upfront to find a strong sense of direction. At the same time, committing to agile processes keeps you adaptable so you can respond to changing circumstances and iterate with market needs. The companies that really stand out are the ones that know who they are but that can still evolve quickly. – Keith Shields, Designli
9. Build Deep Customer Relationships
I’ve found that our key differentiator is not just the services we offer but how we deliver them. We prioritize building deep relationships with our clients, fully understanding their needs and becoming an integral part of their teams. This relationship-first approach sets us apart because our clients know they’re more than just a transaction to us. They trust us as their tech allies, knowing we’re committed to their success. Any new entrepreneur should focus on how they can enrich their customer relationships. This will be their “secret sauce” in standing out from the competition and ensuring sustainable success. – Kelly Kercher, K3 Technology
10. Find Ways To Make Customers And Staff Feel Special
Our culture is getting increasingly self-absorbed. Customer service is becoming a lost art and is being replaced with impersonal automation. If you want to stand out from the crowd, then you must do what no one else is doing. Find new and creative ways every day to make your customers and your staff feel special and important—because they likely aren’t getting that anywhere else. – Thomas Minieri, Minieri & Company
11. Learn To Coexist With Your Competition
Learn how to coexist with your competition, and remember that the key is to be “different enough.” Knowing how to play within the infrastructure that holds your sector in place is almost more important than differentiation. Positioning your company in the market so it can pivot creates a dynamic ecosystem so it doesn’t have to be zero-sum. Mature companies understand how to structure transactions with their competitors so that it’s the logistics of the relationship that define how and when a competitor is friend or foe, not if they are. You can modify the relationship with competitors by raising money from them, selling to them or partnering with them under a variety of terms at later stages. – Sean Adler, GZI
12. Focus On What Really Matters
Remember that winning doesn’t come from beating the competition—it comes from earning a reputation as the best solution to your customers’ problems. When you focus on what really matters (becoming the ultimate version of yourself and serving your customers to the best of your ability), winning happens naturally and your competitors become irrelevant. – Jesse Lear, Epicurean Properties, LLC
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