Your competitors are beating you, but why?

Some people try and build their own brand, and they have a formula to that. Others build their company brands, but fail in obtaining what is the secret sauce that makes them more unique than any of their competitors.

A combination of building personal brands, while at the same time building a company brand like Janine Ellis for instance from Boost Juice, is also good - however, it depends what you are looking for and how you wish to capitalise on your unique selling proposition to catapult your business to a point of leadership.

Competitors beat you because you let them. Not because they are bigger, with more resources, or have necessarily a better product or service. What they may do is stand out from the crowd, and capitalise on "fear" of moving from one product to another or one service to another.

Competitors beat you at your own game due to a number of factors:

Brand

You have not invested in your brand and communicated it effectively to your target audience and influencers. Your brand may be out-dated i.e. Done in the 80's.

Product/Service

Your product or service may not be as high of a perceived quality as your competitors and may be creating a reason for buyers to use them over you. Their product or service may be more efficient or effective and therefore from a competitive perspective, the better choice.

No point of difference

People choose what they know or are familiar with unless you have a unique point of difference. A reason in which people should buy your product or service over your competitors. Every company, whether it is a hamburger joint or an accounting firm, is able to have a point of difference, but it requires thinking outside the box and being prepared to stand out from the crowd.

Your people don't understand customer service

Customer service is singularly one of the main reasons why people come back for repeat business. I buy coffee from Starbucks in Buckhead, Atlanta, only due to customer service. Their coffee is god-darn awful - and no-one in their right mind would go back day after day for burnt coffee, but I do, and so do millions of others. Their coffee may not be good, but their service is exceptional.

Investment in marketing

Investing in marketing is imperative 'to telling your story' the way you would like for it to be told. You will notice that those who invest in marketing after often perceived to be better or more recognisable their perhaps their more successful competitors. Perception is sometimes all you need. Your website and social media accounts is often the first port of call. Don't let them make your brand 'the poorer cousin' of your competitors.

Marketing Eye built a brand in the US by being clever and taking to the market something that no-one else was doing. We continually invest in innovation and keeping our website and social media accounts up to date. This journey has established us from a digital perspective and market-leadership position, as being one of the best in the US. We are not the biggest and nor will we ever be. We are not the cheapest or most expensive - but we provide a quality service that is unparalleled in the market - and there is a lot to be said about that.