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How To Be Different in Business

– Contributed content –

Smartphones in business meeting

(Rawpixel, Pixabay)

25 Apr. 2022. It’s not always easy for small businesses to compete. When there are so many choices, why do customers choose you over and above anyone else? Why should they pick you, more to the point?

There are several reasons why a customer should pick you over the competition – you do great things, and you’re good at what you do. However, customers first must discover you, notice you, and want to buy from you before they know that you’re an excellent choice. That’s where the difficulties lie.

When so many companies are trying the same thing to get attention from the same group of clients, it might leave you bewildered. What can you do to make your company genuinely stand out and outperform the competition? Read on for some helpful advice.

Start With Your Website 

Any company in existence nowadays needs a website, and the majority of businesses have one. However, you’ll encounter a lot of website errors that push people away or prevent companies from being viewed at all.

Here are a few fundamental components of a strong website that will help your company stand out:

Create a mobile-first experience: Your website must be mobile-friendly not just to give a fantastic experience for clients who visit your site on mobile devices, but also because Google has begun indexing mobile versions of sites above desktop ones. This means that if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, it’ll be less likely to rank on Google for business-related queries. Furthermore, mobile devices accounted for 60 percent of website traffic last year, so you can’t afford to lose out on these potential customers.

Make sure it’s simple to use: A clean and uncluttered design, an organised site structure, and pages dedicated to each of your key services or goods are just some of the things you should keep in mind when creating a website that is easy for visitors to use. If you’ve ever had to navigate a complex or out-of-date website, you know the importance of proper navigation.

Add clear calls to action: When a potential customer visits your website, you want them to immediately make the move toward being a customer, whether that means phoning, emailing, or buying from you. Give your phone number and email address on every page of your website. Despite its apparent simplicity, this advice is often ignored.

Keep it fast: Did you know that if a mobile site takes over three seconds to load, more than half of users would abandon it? If your website takes too long to load, you may lose a customer to your main competition.

Invest in SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the activity of optimizing your website and online presence for certain keywords that your target customers are likely to look for. If you want your company to stand out, you need a good SEO plan since that is how you will appear in search results.

SEO includes several aspects of your online presence, such as the backend of your website, web content, and offsite elements such as local listings, reviews, and more. By investing in local SEO, you can rank above rivals in your area that provide comparable goods or services in search engines.

Think of Different Promotional Ideas 

To stand out from the crowd, why not offer a 63 percent discount on each purchase rather than the standard 50 percent? What if you could receive a free bar of chocolate with each purchase? Show that you use quality packaging material from Plaspack.com, but you don’t charge the customer extra for it. Would that make you want to buy more? It might do the same for your customers.

Out-of-the-box sales and promotions are a great way to help your company stand out from the crowd, so if you’re willing to put items on sale or give away something for free, and you do it in a different way from everyone else, this might help you in attracting a lot more customers.

Be Active in Your Community 

Having a strong connection to your local community can help your small or local company stand out from the competitors, particularly the large names.

You can distinguish yourself from the competition and demonstrate your concern for your customers (i.e., the people in your area) by becoming involved in your community via sponsorships, participation in local activities, or working with a local group.

The more you can give to your local community, the more it will appreciate you in return. People will think of you before they think of anyone else, which is a great way to be seen in a crowded marketplace. The key is not to stop once you’ve started; if it’s noticed that you aren’t helping the area as much as you did, you’ll find people drift away from you – you have to keep going.

In terms of your area, did you know that consumers like to use local businesses over and above national or even international ones if they have the chance? According to one survey, more than half of customers prefer to purchase from a local shop rather than a nationwide store.

Many companies take the fact that they are local for granted. So, by emphasizing your local origins, you can make your firm stand out and thrive in your community.

Have a Genuine USP

It’s important to come up with a really unique selling point (USP) for your business. Consider your abilities and history, and see whether they can add benefits to your business in a way that your rivals cannot claim. Your business experience sets you apart from others, for example, and therefore you are able to provide perspectives that others can’t. You can also call on your personal experience; what is it you like in other businesses that you know your own customers would appreciate too?

Your USP is your chance to stand out and be different – it’s ‘unique’, after all. Make sure it really is unique, and make sure it is what your customers want. If you can do this, your business will stand out not just now but in the future too.

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