Step Ahead

4 Tips to Stay One Step Ahead of Your Competitors

According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the UK has about 5.9 million small businesses currently in operation. Cut-throat competition is one defining characteristic of the modern business landscape, so companies must always find strategies to outdo their rivals. Do you want to know more about making your brand the go-to solution for your target consumers ahead of your competitors? Take a look at these points below.

• Market to create awareness

Many business experts advise that being a well-kept secret is detrimental to your prospects of beating competitors and ensuring business growth. Therefore, invest in telling people about your business and how you can help them solve a need rather than assume they already know about your offerings. Also, ensure that you launch campaigns that supplement the knowledge and understanding your clients and prospects have about you. Since 2020 HubSpot data indicates that the top priority for marketers is lead generation, you must maintain strong contact with these prospects to ensure that they’ll patronize you instead of competitors when they’re ready to buy.

• Guarantee responsive customer support 

Your customer support quality is a potent determiner of how well your enterprise retains customers, so you must prioritize this. As per Zendesk’s research, about 80% of consumers will ditch you for a competitor if they have more than one bad customer service experience with your brand. Consequently, prioritize timely and helpful customer service to new and old customers alike, boosting your chances of retaining clients. You can offer rapid customer service through multiple platforms like email, social media, phone calls, and SMS. Also, always ensure that your answers are in-depth and satisfactory, genuinely addressing clients’ concerns and solving their problems. This way, you can encourage customer loyalty to position your brand above companies offering similar products and services, guaranteeing your success over time.

•  Incorporate new technology into operations 

It’s common knowledge that technology is ever-evolving in several aspects of life, including business. New processes and equipment are continually refining operating procedures in all fields, and adopting industry innovations for your business can quickly make you better than your competition. Unique technology helps you operate more efficiently, saving you time, money, and effort. For example, digital dentistry is happening now, and dentists who invest in the latest equipment and education can future-proof their practice and stay ahead of competitors. Therefore, using tools like dental lasers, 3D dental scanners, and CAD technology within this industry makes you more appealing to customers than your counterparts relying on more obsolete tools.

• Know your competition 

You can only stay ahead of your rivals if you know where they stand in the first place, so it’s essential to know your competition thoroughly. For this, you can gather crucial details concerning what your competitors are offering, how you can improve their offerings, how beneficial your changes would be, among others. Also, closely monitor your competitors’ social media accounts and websites to determine if you can pick up anything that may hand you a competitive advantage over them. For example, noticing your competitor has a website that isn’t mobile-friendly can guide you towards optimizing your site for mobile to engage customers seeking your industry’s offerings.