21 Jul

3 Creative Ways To Stand Out From Your Competition

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 21.07.14 by John Meloche

Standing out of the crowdAdvertising your business is a full time job. At Synergy Marketing, we have a lot of experience helping business owners across Canada to promote their brands, so we definitely know this to be true. It requires a lot of dedication, but it doesn’t necessarily require a lot of money. As we’ve often said in our blogs, creative marketing ideas can be both inexpensive and effective. And they’re usually what work best for small business owners.

On SteamFeed.com, Jeff Howell writes that there are several creative ways to help your small business to stand out. Again, when you’re creative with your approach to advertising, you don’t have to worry about going over your budget. Simply make it so that your customers are intrigued by the ways in which you communicate with them and you’ll notice that they’ll begin paying you a whole lot more attention. Here are three of Howell’s tips.

1. Ask your customers how they would like to receive content. “All you had to do was ask.” How many times have you had someone say that to you when you finally work up the courage to ask the nagging question that had been on your mind for weeks? It’s no different when it comes to promoting your business. Different people like receiving information in different ways. So communicate with your customers and ask what ways would work best work for them.

In some cases, that will be through an emailing list. Simply ask your customers if they would like to be on your mailing list so that they will be among the first to receive special offers and discounts. Howell also recommends that you run instant polls on your website to keep your customers engaged. More importantly, the polls will help you to determine exactly what makes your customers tick so you can better speak to their needs.

2. Triggered emails. Now speaking of that emailing list, it’s important that you provide your customers with benefits when they sign up. They should feel like they are part of an “exclusive” club when they get your messages. Firstly, your emails shouldn’t strictly be advertising-based. You don’t want to make them blatant commercials or they may turn people off. Engage your customers by being yourself and offering up something personal about yourself.

Think about your emails as if they were letters to friends. Of course, you’re not going to divulge every little personal detail about yourself. But it doesn’t hurt to be personable. Then, as Howell recommends, make additional offers, provide free information and remind your customers about opportunities that only they can take advantage of by being part of your emailing list. It could mean the difference between a sale and a deletion of your message!

3. Do what your competition isn’t doing. There’s probably no better way to outshine your competition than to offer your client base something that your competitors do not. “Analyze what marketing methods your competitors are using, and look for the holes,” insists Howell. An easy way to figure out exactly what those methods are would be to jump online. Check out your competition’s websites and see what they offer customers via the internet.

Can you offer your customers something through your website to make their lives easier? Can you make yourself more accessible to your customers when they have comments and questions that need to be addressed? Answering these and other questions that will make clear the differences between you and your industry contemporaries will truly help to set you apart. You’ll truly be rewarded in the end.

Be sure to check back for tomorrow’s blog as we continue to analyze Howell’s tips!

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