In a perfect world your business would be the only one. In reality this is both impossible and, thanks to anti-monopoly laws – illegal. So the game is on and you’re forced to find a competitive edge over other businesses. Here are four practices your business must implement to gain a competitive advantage in your relevant industry.
Critical thinking: Know your customers
You’d be surprised how many businesses operate without a hint of idea who they operate for; they just launch a product or service in hope that somebody out there will find it useful or interesting. By learning more about the market and your potential customers you can gain a great advantage over your competitors. Answer these simple questions – what are you selling, who are you selling to and why do they need it? This basic knowledge will be enough to start making the right decisions.
Know your competitors
In the market there is you, your customers, and your competitors; all are equally important. Spend some time researching your competitors, their strategies, the way they are different from you and how they stand out from the crowd. Do not be intimidated by bigger, better run companies, but learn from the best and implement the most advantageous solutions in your own business.
Build solid foundations
Invest at the start and you won’t have to fix it later. It’s quite simple really, if you have the best team and the best product, you are on the way to being the best – period. What will also help is having the best marketing strategy and the best infrastructure. In today’s world, infrastructure means more than office furniture or vehicles. What’s even more important, is your IT hardware and software. To get an edge over your competitors it might be a good idea to ask professionals, like Keyspace, to take care of this complicated issues. Build your business on solid foundations and you’ll ensure a steady and dynamic growth even in difficult times.
Listen, learn, respond (fast)
In the age of internet you can be and should be communicating with your customers on a daily basis. Remember, social media is there for much more than posting photos of cute cats. Your Facebook page can be much more than one sided monologue from you to your customers. Change it into an interactive platform where you actually communicate with your clients, gather their opinions, and listen. But don’t stop just there. Once you learn what your customers want, provide for them. Analyze what you see and try to implement it in your business, improve your service and product and fulfill your customer’s wishes. Clients like to be listened to and taken care of, and if they see you actually respond to their needs, they will choose you over your competitors.
How to get a competitive edge over you competitors? By reading this article you already have – finding time to think about improving your business is the first step to getting ahead of the game.
