How to Make Your Business Successful in a Competitive Environment

[This article was written by Tara Lundy.]

There are millions of small businesses that exist in the United States. Whether it’s a privately-owned law firm, a fashionable boutique, or a marketing company, the opportunities are endless for the successful business you want to achieve. But with all the opportunity available, there’s also countless competition for whichever field you enter into. As we all only want each of our businesses to be as successful as possible, here are some ways to maximize your business’s product and stand out from all the rest.

 Analyze Your Competition

First things first when trying to make your business stand out amongst your competitors you should be analyzing what exactly it is your competitors are doing. This can be with online competitors or competitors that are in your area. It’s also just as important to analyze your similarities as well as your differences. Study their website, if they’re doing any social media or in-house marketing, what their price points are, how quality their products are, possibly talk to these competitors directly, etc. Doing so will help you evaluate what you’re doing right and what you might be doing wrong or not enough of. From there, identify your competitive edges and where you can really stand out amongst your field.

 Use the Power of Social Media

One of the great things about today’s day in age is the power of social media. Whether you’ve just opened your business or have successfully been operating your business for numerous years, it never hurts to do in-house marketing and use the power of social media. This will not only help to expose your company to a wider audience, but being regularly active on social media may be something that puts you ahead of your competitors as well. Of course, the kind of social media platforms you’ll be using will vary on what kind of business you’re in but as a standard, most businesses should have a regularly updated LinkedIn profile and Facebook profile. If your business is more geared towards millenials or is fashion-forward, consider having a company Instagram and Twitter as well. JetBlue’s Twitter profile serves as an amazing example of both social media use and customer service as they regularly tweet and make an effort to reply to numerous consumers.

 Have a Message Behind Your Product

One of the best ways to make your company successful is to highlight what makes your company different and special from other competitors. Having a strong message behind your business and/or product is valued from customers and separates you from other competitors. For example, hair color disruptor, oVertone values the importance of inclusivity and has made sure to integrate that value into the core of their company and hair dye products. Co-founder, Liora Dudar said, “We have always been committed to using our platform to promote a message of intersectional feminism and content that pushes for global inclusivity over narrow definitions of accepted beauty standards.” Whether the message is why you started your company in the first place or just highlights core values that are important to you, emphasizing what means the most to you will make your business all the more effective and successful.

Provide Great Customer Service

Customer service is no doubt one of the most important things when running a business. Word of mouth is a powerful tool to grow your business. If a customer is happy with your product, they’ll likely recommend you to someone they know, but the same goes if someone is unhappy with your product. Likely, when this happens, they’ll voice it to either you or onto social media. But if one of your customers is displeased, be sure to respond immediately. No matter how unhappy people might be, giving adequate customer service is always appreciated and a great way to get some feedback on what to improve in order to make your business better. If you respond well to a negative review, that unhappy customer might even be willing to try your product again or give positive word of mouth to other potential customers.

Author Bio:

Tara is a business enthusiast who lives in Denver, Colorado. When she’s not writing, she’s spending her time with her family and dogs.