How to Stand Out As A Small Business
In today’s hyper-competitive business environment where your competition is no longer confined to competitors in your local area, small businesses need to find ways to stand out from the crowd.
To be successful, small businesses must differentiate themselves from their competitors and provide their clients and customers with a compelling reason to choose them over others.
After all, people buy the differences they perceive. It’s all about perception–not facts–which means it’s all about communication.
In this article, we’ll explore some strategies that small businesses can use to stand out and differentiate themselves from their competition, to grow their profits.
Identify your unique selling proposition
The first step in differentiating your small business is to identify your unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP is what sets you apart from your competitors and defines your company’s unique selling points. It’s the reason why customers or clients should choose your product or service over that of your competitors.
Your USP is not actually about YOU. It’s about your CUSTOMER and what matters most to them.
To identify your USP, ask yourself what do your customers or clients want most, and what makes your business unique in that respect.
Is it the quality of your products or services? Maybe so, but promoting that won’t help differentiate your business because claiming to have good or great quality is something all your competitors are probably claiming too.
The same applies to saying you give great customer service, claiming you “really care” and other “blah blah blah” statements that people won’t believe or remember.
Is there something you provide that truly is different from your competitors? You don’t have to try to appeal to everyone. You’re better off having something that appeals strongly to a segment of the market, rather than try to be all things to all people and get lost in the noise of all the other businesses claiming similar things.
Does your uniqueness lie in your innovative approach to problem-solving or your overall process or way of doing business? Do you address a particular key pain point of potential customers or clients in a unique way? Whatever it is, make sure to communicate it to them.
Create a strong brand identity
Creating a strong brand identity is another crucial step in differentiating your small business. Your brand identity includes your logo, website, marketing materials, and overall aesthetic. It’s how you present your business to the world, and it should reflect your unique values and USP.
When creating your brand identity, make sure it’s consistent across all your marketing materials. Use the same colors, fonts, and design elements to create a cohesive look and feel. This will help customers or clients recognise your brand and differentiate it from others.
Offer unique add-on products or services
Unless you’ve invented or got the rights for a truly unique ‘widget’, it’s difficult to stand out by offering exclusive products or services. If you think through the overall customer experience and what your customer wants to achieve or feel, you can often differentiate your business by providing additional services or products that your competitors don’t offer.
For example, if you run a small bookstore, you could offer a book club or author events to attract and retain customers. Or a restaurant could offer an incentive such as a complimentary bottle of wine or desserts for a couple to return again on the special occasion (e.g. birthday or anniversary). Done well this would be positioned as a lovely gesture and would generate additional word-of-mouth for the business.
Focus on value over price
While price is a critical factor for many customers or clients, focusing solely on price can be detrimental to your small business. When you compete solely on price, you may attract price-conscious customers, but you’ll also attract customers who aren’t loyal and will jump ship as soon as a competitor offers a lower price.
To differentiate yourself from competitors who compete solely on price, focus on value instead. Offer high-quality products, services and experiences that your customers or clients can’t find elsewhere, and make sure to communicate their value to them. When you focus on value, you’ll attract customers who appreciate your products or services and are willing to pay a premium price for them.
Value equals benefits divided by price. The only way to increase the value you deliver is to either increase the benefits, or reduce the price.
If you’re finding customers or clients are being price-sensitive and are not seeing the value in what you offer, focus more on communicating the BENEFITS they will experience. Benefits are the results they achieve or how they will feel – this is not about facts and features, it’s more about emotion and perceptions.
Your economic value is in your uniqueness
Differentiating your small business is crucial for success in today’s competitive market. By identifying your unique value proposition, creating a strong brand identity, offering unique add-on products or services, and focusing on value over price, you can stand out from the crowd and grow your profits.
Remember, your economic value is in your uniqueness and that’s all about customer or client perceptions…
…which you can influence with effective communication.
