Standing Out From Competition
There are more than 28 million small businesses in the United States
In today's sea of sameness, it's more important than ever to stand out from the crowd
We recently did a search for businesses within 15 miles of our office. There are 65,178!
Back in the good ‘ole days, companies had 3 primary focuses for advertising: TV, radio and newspapers. However, in today’s “connected” age, companies are reaching consumers in real-time, trying to catch their attention at every turn. Even though only a fraction of those businesses are in direct competition with yours, all of them are competing for your prospects’ time and attention.
Are you afraid to be different?
if it's so important...
why are so many companies afraid to be different?
1Many businesses want to be leaders in their markets, but are afraid to stand out because they see standing out from the crowd as a risk. In fact, they most often see it as an unnecessary risk.
If you are running a somewhat successful business with a decent product or service, you don’t need to stand out. You can be like everyone else and keep on with the day to day grind. You will never dominate your market, but you are relatively safe, at least until some other business comes along and does something to stand out and your business gets forgotten.
2For many small businesses, there is another reason they don’t want to stand out. They want to be seen as businesspeople. Seriously…they want to feel like people take them seriously. (See what I did there? ) It’s a safety issue.
It plays into the one fear that causes almost all other fears. It’s where the fear of the dark, the fear of death and even the fear of public speaking comes from. What is it?
The deadliest fear
Ostracism
This
Not This
Ostracism is the fear of being alone, left out, excluded or rejected.
Ok...So what do I do?
There are 3 main things you can do in marketing that can help your business stand out. Click on any of the strategies for each of the areas.
Something Completely Different
Sometimes you need to think outside the box. Get out of your norm and see what can happen. With marketing, often it means adding something into your marketing that you don't already do or something that is completely unique. To learn what you need to to to be able to increase your sales, you have to do things differently than you have been doing.
Competition Destruction
Picking up market share is getting harder and harder with all of the competition out there. In order to consistently pick up more customers and dominate your competition, you definitely have to get different. How do you do what you do differently than everybody else? When it comes to marketing, that means implementing strategies that will help you stand head and shoulders above everyone else.
Website Domination
I imagine that you've noticed by now that our website isn't like everyone else's. Like it or hate it, you've made it to this point so there is something different that has kept you here. Is your web design where you really want it? The one key thing you have to remember is your website isn't about you...it's about your customer.
