4 ways to stand out from the crowd this year

Key takeaways

Sharpen your insight into current customer priorities and preferences. Shifts may have occurred during the last year, and many buyers say businesses don’t understand their needs.
Define what makes your business uniquely valuable to your market by creating or refining your unique selling proposition (USP).
Raise your company’s visibility on social media to locate new prospects and emphasize your expertise to existing customers.
Train your team to address customer problems and consistently deliver great service to keep customers happy.

Businesses that are informed, differentiated, and visible will pull ahead of the competition in the coming months. The imperative to stand out this year is strong — 93% of companies in a recent HubSpot® survey say customers have higher expectations now than ever before.

Take steps to give your business a competitive advantage in the current business environment by:

Knowing your market

As your customers return to post-pandemic living, the way they want to purchase and use your company’s products may have evolved. Buyers for a tutoring company, for example, may permanently prefer the convenience of digital sessions, law firm clients may now demand e-signature as an option, and medical practice patients may opt for telehealth for routine appointments. Consider polling customers through short phone interviews or by using a survey. Tools such as SurveyMonkey®, QuestionPro®, or Alchemer® can help you create, send, and analyze a questionnaire.

If you think you know your market priorities cold, consider that a report from Pega® finds that nearly a third of customers say businesses don’t understand them.

Conveying your unique value

Understanding what differentiates your product, service, or company will enable you to emphasize this competitive advantage. For example, your unique strength might be your company’s unparalleled expertise, its quick turnaround, or access to hard-to-find items. Clarify what’s most valuable to your audience by creating or updating your unique selling proposition (USP). When someone reads your USP, they should learn — or be reminded of — why you’re the best choice.

Your USP should include the following elements:

Our target audience is _____________.
They need our offering, which is__________.
Our company/product/service is called _________.
Our competitors are ____________.
The unique thing that sets us apart from our competitors is ________.
Our unique benefit is __________.

Increasing your visibility

Stay competitive this year by elevating your company’s social media profile. A prominent presence on social channels may help prospects learn about your business. It can also reinforce your expert status with existing customers. If you aren’t convinced, consider that 67% of respondents to a survey by business news website The Manifest® say they made a purchase after seeing an ad on social media.

Determine which social media platforms your targets frequent, and commit to having a regular presence there by:

Posting about new products, special promotions, and recent projects.
Putting a human face on your business by highlighting a staffer.
Posting polls or contests for holidays or special events.
Highlighting testimonials or positive comments by customers about your business. Research from user-generated content technology provider Bazaarvoice® shows that three-quarters of shoppers use reviews to help them evaluate products.

Taking care of your customers

To keep buyers from straying to the competition, establish a protocol in your business so you’re ready to address customer complaints. Your business likely spends a significant amount of time and money acquiring customers, and keeping them loyal is important to company success. Train all members of your customer-facing team in exactly how to respond to a dissatisfied buyer. This should include how to listen and empathize, as well as the steps to take to resolve a problem. If a situation can’t be resolved on the spot, create an escalation process to involve a manager.

This article is excerpted from our new, free guide, Ready to Move Forward: Preparing Your Business to Harness its Potential.

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Disclaimer: The information contained herein is for informational purposes only as a service to the public and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. You should do your own research and/or contact your own legal or tax advisor for assistance with questions you may have on the information contained herein.