The main goal of any marketing effort is to stand out, be seen, and attract the attention of potential customers, a ber the competition is trying to do that, of course, too.
How you can still stand out in a positive way and gain an advantage, you will learn in this article!
So how can you now give your brand, your product and everything you do a secure edge?
Better appearance? Possibly.
A huge selection of products? Maybe.
Price war? Not always.
There are many ways you can differentiate yourself from Be able to stand out from your competition , and even those for which you don’t have to lower your standards. In fact, most of the points in this post are more about improving yourself!
Let’s get into the nitty gritty:
1. Use confident branding
Branding plays a big role In defining exactly who you are and what you do. And this creates trust. High quality, but most importantly Consistent Branding can set you apart from your competition. But how?
Let’s take a look at the bags and cases from Red Oxx .
The striking red logo stands out. A similar font is used on the rest of the website and in an adapted form for a niche product range – security bags uses.
Branding is not so specialized that it appeals to only one target group – it appeals to artisans, travelers, factory workers, city explorers. simply anyone who wants to have a damn strong bag.
In addition, you can find this Branding on all social media and product pages again. Open and consistent branding is not obnoxious or intrusive, but it stands out and is memorable.
2. Find one thing you are best at
Remember when you had the best customer service in your life have received. Having by far the best customer service in your industry is an opportunity, Stand out from your competition.
Of course, it’s almost an investment in marketing to keep your clientele happy, because a happy customer or client is sure to spread your name among their friends and acquaintances.
But what other areas are there that you can be best at to differentiate yourself?
Your Return Terms , for example.
Lupine Pet Is a small company that makes harnesses, leashes and collars for dogs (and cats!) makes. And every single product comes with a lifetime guarantee, "even nibbled on".
This offer makes them stand out from their competition. They know that their customers often have the problem that dogs like to nibble on their collars.
This can quickly become an expensive hobby for a dog owner. That’s why Lupine Pet the problem of its clientele through a lifetime guarantee – without ifs and buts. This leads to the fact that potential customers Opt for Lupine Pet rather than a competing brand.
3. Do not compare yourself with your competitors
Rolls Royce doesn’t compare itself to Ford, and Nordstrom doesn’t compare itself to H&M.
Why? Because they are 2 completely different brands selling products at completely different ends of the spectrum.
Matching: 88% of shoppers do their research online these days , before they buy a product. YouTube, Amazon reviews and other comparison portals have made it really easy for people to learn all they can about a company before they choose you.
But nothing will detract more from your value as perceived by your clientele, than directly comparing yourself to a competitor. You don’t need to draw extra attention to your competition.
People who are interested in your brand but are also toying with another in their mind will compare enough on their own. The focus of your marketing efforts should be yourself , not your competition.
4. Stand out with your tone of voice
Your Branding collateral or your design catalog should have a Contain clear and concise definition of your brand’s underlying tone (tonality).
Determine whether you are more serious and adult are like an online banking platform or rather playful and cheerful like the email marketing platform MailChimp.
As you may already see, tonality is more about what is said.
Mailchimp’s humor is also reflected in the images of their mascot, who literally sweats when he’s about to hit the "send" button.
So you can see their tonality even in a picture.
The luggage brand Away illustrates on their product pages with the help of gifs how convenient it is to have a charger integrated in your luggage – and in a humorous way.
Without words brings Away A little humor in a pretty dry product – luggage. This will put you miles ahead of your competition.
5. Shine with your packaging
Your product packaging is the only marketing tool that reaches 100% of your clientele. That’s why it’s important that your product packaging doesn’t just reflect your branding, but also stand out from the competition.
Unboxing videos , So videos of users unboxing a product have become ubiquitous on YouTube, in part because so many people now search online for product reviews before making their purchase decisions.
When done well, a fan’s unboxing video can A great marketing tool for you Its. And at the heart of an unboxing video. you guessed it, of course the box.
By using high quality product packaging Make sure that every customer, every client, and even everyone who sees even an unboxing video of your product will remember your branding.
And at the same time, they will also remember your product and, of course, the box Remember your brand name.
Learn more about unboxing videos and YouTube marketing in this free guide from us:
6. Demonstrate your social responsibility
A unique selling proposition of your brand can be that you are environmentally friendly. Your products can be powered by renewable sources or your materials can be fully recyclable.
Similarly, your products can be aimed at children or animals, people with disabilities, seriously ill or elderly people.
If your product or you personally have something to do with any of the above, consider working with a non-profit organization in this area.
Steel Blue, an Australian manufacturer of work shoes, worked closely with the nonprofit beyondblue to raise money for mental health. You even developed a limited edition boot to draw attention to the issue.
Why?
Because Steel Blue knew that their target customer, Working class men, are the least likely to talk about mental health issues. This brought both Steel Blue and beyondblue to the attention of an audience that had never heard of them before.
Social responsibility is a powerful marketing tool.
7. Win fans through transparency
When price is an important factor in competition, but you yourself just can’t go lower, Consider showing exactly where your money is going.
Buffer Is a company that is incredibly transparent. To make sure that customers know exactly , where their money is going, they get insight into. well, every single aspect of the company.
In Buffer’s "transparency dashboard," things like Team salaries, sales, the product roadmap and even what your employees read in their free time can be seen. Sounds like something a lot of companies would do? Of course not.
But by being transparent and telling the world, "Look at our sensitive data," Buffer sets itself apart from its competition.
8. Offer variations
This is a great opportunity, differentiate yourself from your competition stand out, but for this you need to know your competition very well. Once you are sure that your product is superior in every way, simply offer more variants of it – for example different colors.
If a competitor’s product is offered in 5 colors, make sure that Your product is offered with 10 color options. This is an especially good tactic if you are Sell their products on a platform like Amazon or eBay.
Because that’s literally where they see you right next to your competition. In the following example you can see exactly that. A product that is for sale on Amazon, with many color variations – and the competition just below it.
By offering more choice, more variety, or a wider range of options for your products, your brand stands out. This will make you the best option in a potentially oversaturated market.
9. Grow and learn constantly
This last point isn’t about standing out, it’s about also standing out Continue to stand out as you grow. A natural side effect of growth is that you’re likely to learn more about your clientele.
Get to know their problems better and see to what extent their problems change as well.
Therefore, in order to consistently stand out, it is important that you position regularly re-evaluate and review how else you can stand out from the competition.
It may mean that you have to Take a closer look at competitors need to. It may mean that you have to go through a rebranding process.
But every business owner knows that you can find yourself out of business sooner than expected, If you don’t grow with the market, change, adapt and keep an eye on the competition.
To do this evaluation and competitor analysis, the SWOT analysis could help you. In this article, we reveal what this might look like for an online store.
What do you mean?
At the end of the day, not everyone who sees your product will love it. When it comes to differentiating your business from the competition, it comes down to being unique and memorable when presenting yourself to the potential clientele you might value.