Technology

How is Your Company Different from the Competition?

Separating your company from competitors may not be as difficult as you might think it to be.

Do you have top-notch products and/or services? Are you offering customers competitive prices? How often do you go the extra mile for your customers? If you do all these things, you in fact can separate yourself from others.

That said what steps have you been taking and what more should you do to stand out?

Don’t Look Back with Business Regrets

In your efforts to build your company to where it can be hard for the competition to challenge you, focus on:

1. Show customers you care – If you fail to show customers what they mean to you, it can have repercussions over time. Make it clear your customers deserve more and then some. Most of them will appreciate that you go the extra mile for them. Great customer service can be hard to a price tag on at the end of the day.

2. Offerings competition may not have – How well do you know those you compete with on a regular basis? Even though the focus is on your business, you’d do yourself a disservice if you knew little of the competition. That is why you want some insight to what it is they do. For example, do they offer membership services to their customers? The hope is you have such offerings for those you serve. Having membership services can in fact set you apart from the competition. If you do offer such services, be sure you have the best membership management software going. You want it so that the software you deploy allows you to provide first-rate services. No matter the kind of membership services you offer, make sure consumers come to you wanting more. That is allowing you to differentiate your brand from others.

3. Prices make a difference – Have you been keeping a close eye to what you charge for your products and/or services? The hope is you are not being outdone by the competition over and over again. For example, you operate a gas station on your corner of the block and there is a competitor across the street. You do not want it so that the competitor’s prices are always undercutting you. Be cognizant of what others are charging to in part help you decide what you want to charge. Also look at the kinds of discounts you should consider offering if not doing so now. These can include things such as senior citizen discounts. It can also mean deals for those with current or past military services. Do you have lower prices for those customers with young children coming to you and more? Look at your pricing and how to discount from time to time.

4. Take active role in the community – Finally, have you done much to be active in the local community? If not, now may well be the time to change that. An active role locally can help you stand out from others. Find what is key to local community members and see how you and your company can help them get what they want.

In the quest to make it clear why your company is different from competitors, what will it take to get the job done?

Christopher Stern

Christopher Stern is a Washington-based reporter. Chris spent many years covering tech policy as a business reporter for renowned publications. He has extensive experience covering Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Trade Commissions. He is a graduate of Middlebury College. Email:[email protected]

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