While the Internet has opened up many businesses to a much larger market, it has also done the same for your competitors. It also means you’re now competing with companies further away that previously may not have been competitors. This saturation of the market means the need to gain a competitive advantage is greater than ever.
We now operate in a world where businesses need to maximize every resource they can.
Customers are now marketers
Customers have the ability to instantly rate your business publicly. Whether it’s review sites or social resources, always delivering or exceeding the promises you make to customers will put you ahead of the game. In order to achieve this, you need to understand the journey your customers go on and then refine and improve it.
All your systems and processes should be geared towards this end. There is no excuse for long wait times or sloppy customer service when there is an IT solution to address every business need. You just need to find the right one for you.
This will not only ensure customers become repeat customers, which is easier and cheaper to achieve than generating new customers, but it will also turn people that use your business into advocates. Every positive rating and review will become a beacon of trustworthiness on the Internet. Every company will have problems with customers, but getting everything in place to quickly and comprehensively address their issues will ensure even the most unhappy customer will have their needs met.
Be yourself
Don’t try to copy a competitor’s style; it will only make you look unauthentic. However, there will be many things you will do the same, as some marketing tactics simply just work. Understanding your customers will help you to craft an authentic persona that engages your target audience.
Supercharge your learning curve
We all learn from our mistakes as we plod along, but really successful businesses minimize or avoid problems by learning from the mistakes of others. You will not be the first business doing what you’re doing. Spend some time on research and looking closely at your competitors’ successes and failures to gain a greater understanding of what you need to do to succeed.
Increase your focus
When you’re trying to increase brand awareness the ROI from your advertising budget can be disheartening. Rather than just casting a huge net, start using your budget more wisely by targeted marketing. Small Instagram users might not have millions of followers, but your hit rate could be much higher if the influencers account is relevant to your product or market.
There are YouTube channels for virtually every interest imaginable. Find ones related to your market and see if you can work with them to take advantage of their highly relevant viewership.
Learn to let go
Many entrepreneurs are control freaks. However, as you get bigger you must learn to delegate to more qualified people. If you try to do it all by yourself you’ll end up doing none of it well. Seek out the best people you can find for each role, and then trust them to perform it.
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