From dental clinics to home landscaping services and everything in between, it’s hard to know exactly how you can stay above water and compete in a saturated market with new businesses popping up left, right, and centre. And while competition can be a good thing, not knowing how to differentiate yourself amongst a growing pool of competitors can quickly sink your business. So, to help you stand out in a saturated market, we’ve compiled our best pearls of wisdom that will help you gain the edge you need to surpass the competition.
With any business, you’re bound to encounter a few roadblocks on the way. This is especially true when operating in a saturated market. One of the most significant drawbacks of operating in a saturated market is that it limits your profitability and growth potential. It also makes it more difficult for your brand to stand out when competing for customers’ attention, business, and loyalty. This means that the more competition you have, the more money you’ll need to spend in order to stand out and push yourself to the front of the line.
Despite the obvious challenges, a saturated market isn’t always a bad thing. Think about it this way: the more competitors you have, the more buzz is generated surrounding your product or service, which increases your chances of having your marketing messages reach a whole new audience. In fact, having this kind of buzz surrounding your industry will help to validate the idea that a particular type of product or service is something consumers need. This leads to you getting a bigger pie of marketing dollars rather than having to duke it out with competitors to get a larger slice of the same pie. Plus, having competition also promotes growth, as you won’t ever be able to become complacent. In other words, a growing market is good for business.
But this doesn’t mean you don’t have to put the effort in to help your business stand out. So how do you use a saturated market to your advantage and find a unique way to position and market your brand in a way that is unique from the competition? Here are a few ideas:
It’s a well-known fact that people like buying from other people, especially ones they can relate to. So, if your branding and messaging seems like it was written by a faceless robot, it won’t appeal to consumers. But by crafting a distinct style, voice, or brand personality, you’ll appeal to specific types of buyers. The key is not to be afraid to let people see the humanity behind your brand. This ‘personality’ should also extend to your values, your mission, your vision, and what you stand for. Because if consumers feel like they know you, they are more likely to develop trust, giving you the advantage over other brands.
Rather than breaking into an industry and focusing on a broad target audience, you should be looking for a niche group whose needs aren’t being met. These potential customers are probably already buying what’s currently on the market due to the lack of alternatives. So, if they see a product/service offering that’s created especially for them, they’ll feel seen and happily go with your brand over the competition.
via GIPHY Again – and we can’t stress this enough – people don’t buy from faceless companies; they buy from other people. So, whether it’s through email marketing, a social media marketing strategy, or just amazing content, it’s important to focus on building and maintaining great relationships with clients that will keep them engaged and coming back long-term. It doesn’t matter whether they’re one-time shoppers or long-time buyers, fostering an amazing relationship with every customer and ensuring they feel valued will give them one more reason to keep coming back to you over your competitors.
via GIPHY With so many options available to them, customers will no longer put up with delayed responses, poor shipping practices, or other customer service issues. In fact, around 75% of customers believe that customer service is one of the best ways to measure a business’s competence. So, the takeaway here is to treat your customers like royalty and make sure your communication is on point by providing quick response times and amazing customer support.
In the age of social media, negative feedback and poor experiences spread like wildfire, and can truly make or break your business. For this reason, you must always be on your toes and be able to respond to negative critiques and rectify any wrongs as soon as they happen. And don’t be afraid to look bad in front of customers who may not have had negative experiences. Owning up to your mistakes makes you appear more human and genuine, which is something people always like to see.
Besides providing great customer service and having an awesome relationship with your clients, your user experience (UX) needs to be a top priority. User experience refers to a customer’s overall experience using your website, factoring in how easy and pleasing it is to you. A meaningful user experience not only allows you to define your customers’ journey on your website, but also provide them with a positive brand experience that will help to build loyalty and trust. The best way to achieve this is to have a modern-looking, mobile-friendly site that is also easy to read and navigate on desktop. Also make sure you are producing high-quality content and are keeping up to date with digital marketing trends.
If you’ve put in all the work and are still struggling to generate leads, SEM marketing may be the final missing piece of the puzzle. SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is the process of driving website traffic through the purchase of search engine ads. This includes:
SEM marketing is a great way to give yourself a competitive advantage by increasing your visibility, improving brand awareness, and advertising directly to an audience that is already interested in what you have to offer. The end result of SEM marketing efforts is usually more traffic to your site, increased leads, and better conversion rates and sales. So, what do you have to lose?
With a bit of time and effort, you can overcome a saturated market and get your brand where it needs to be. But you can’t do it alone. By partnering with an experienced digital marketing agency, you can trust that your business is in the right hands and will be optimized to surpass your competitors. via GIPHY Through competitive research analysis, an agency will help you gain a better understanding of what you’re up against. Plus, whether it’s through PPC, social media, SEO analysis, or content marketing, an agency will come up with strategies and plans of action to help steer your business in the right direction and smash the competition.