One of the most common challenges that smaller businesses face is competing with the bigger brands in their industry. These much larger companies have the funds and reputation to dominate the market, and this can make it difficult to survive as a smaller company. Although it will always be a challenge, there are a few steps to take which can level the playing field and help a smaller company to compete and there are even a few advantages that a smaller brand can use to succeed. So, if you are wondering how smaller brands can compete with the bigger brands in your industry, then read on to find out more.
SEO
SEO is vital for businesses of all sizes in all industries in today’s day and age. While you may struggle to reach the very top of search engine results lists (SERPs), investing in SEO can help you to reach the first page and compete with the much larger brands. If you can get more people to visit your website, you have every chance of making a sale, but the website must be of the highest quality in order to succeed.
High-Quality Website
Leading on from this, you can also level the playing field with your company website. Nothing deters a customer quicker than a dated, clunky and unattractive website, but it is possible to design a professional standard website for an affordable price, even if you have no prior experience. Trusted cloud hosting companies like Krystal.co.uk provide a high-quality, reliable website along with an easy-to-use site designer tool that makes it easy with no prior experience or coding. Make sure that the website you create explains why the visitor should choose you over the competition and you should see a spike in sales.
Competitive Pricing
When it comes down to it, pricing is arguably the biggest factor in the consumer’s thought process. Simply adjusting your pricing so that you are competitive but slightly cheaper than the competition, can attract new customers provided that the quality of your brand meets the same standard.
Deals
Similarly, brand loyalty goes out the window if there is a great deal for shoppers in many product categories. Consider running any kind of promotion or deal that will encourage people to try your brand – if the quality is the same, but slightly cheaper, then you are sure to win over new customers and steal them away from your much larger competitors. Once shoppers give your brand a shot because of the price, they will stay if you wow them with the product benefits and quality.
Influencer Marketing
In today’s social media driven times, influencers are incredibly powerful individuals who can help a business thrive. If you can get an expert with a large following in your industry to recommend your products/services you could see your entire company transform with a sharp increase in sales and a boost in both brand reputation and awareness.
Make Customer Service A Priority
One area where larger brands often struggle is customer service because it is hard to provide a personalized experience when you have so many staff and issues to resolve. Smaller brands can take advantage of this by making customer service a priority. Consumers need to feel important and heard throughout the customer experience, so make sure that your staff is friendly, helpful, knowledgable, and willing to go the extra mile. If you strike up relationships with your customers and get on a first-name basis, then you can retain customers, which is the key to success.
Host Events
Similarly, another area where small businesses might excel is by hosting events for your target customer and then using these to make important connections and show your expertise (more on this below). This could be a launch party, a product demonstration, a workshop, or simply a summer BBQ to thank customers or introduce prospects to your brand.
Show Your Expertise
Consumers will always choose a brand that is an expert in the field no matter if this is a large corporation or a small startup. Social media is a terrific platform for showing your expertise, which can level the playing field and provide you with the chance to persuade your target customer to switch to your brand. You can do this by creating helpful, entertaining, and valuable blog posts. Share posts on social media and then engage with your target customer in the comments, which has the added benefit of boosting SEO.
Be Memorable
More often than not a consumer will use the first company that springs to mind (provided that they have had a good experience with them before). This means that by making your brand more memorable you can compete with the biggest names in the industry. This is, of course, challenging, but a memorable brand name, strong branding, excellent customer service, and a high-quality product/service is key to boosting your market performance.
It is challenging for a small company to compete with the larger, household brands when they do not have the same money and resources. It is possible to compete with these larger companies, however, using these recommendations so smaller brands can compete using the most effective strategies.
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