One of the biggest challenges that startups face is competing against the bigger names in the industry – this is particularly true if it is a competitive field with household name brands. Consumers tend to stick with established brands and ones that they know or have used before which can make it challenging when you first begin your startup.
Fortunately, there are a few tips and tricks which you can use to help you to compete from the start and give you the opportunity to attract customers away from even the most respected brands in your particular industry. Read on to find out more.
Promotions
Loyalty goes out the window if there is a good promotion to take advantage of. This is a great tool to use when you first launch your company as you will attract customers from the get-go and you should be able to recoup the cost of the promotion by retaining customers (provided that you offer high-quality products and efficient delivery service). It could include:
- X% off first purchase
- Buy one get one free
- X% off when you spend X amount
Digital marketing
One of the main reasons that the most successful brands dominate the industry is that they are easy to find. Fortunately, you are able to level the playing field with ecommerce SEO which will help your company to rise through the search engine results lists. It will direct more traffic to your store while also improving brand awareness and reputation.
Encourage word-of-mouth marketing
Word-of-mouth marketing remains incredibly useful, so this needs to be an area to address. You can benefit from word-of-mouth marketing through customer loyalty schemes, seeking customer feedback and using positive reviews on your website. You could also look into influencer marketing which is a great way to put your products in front of your target audience.
Go above & beyond for the customer
Although customers are always looking out for the best deals, there is a lot to be said for providing excellent customer service, and this can be a great way to win over a customer. It is easier for a small startup to offer better customer service than a much larger ecommerce company so you must use this to your advantage. A few ways to do this include:
- Responding to queries/complaints swiftly
- Engaging with target customers on social media
- Recommending products based on previous purchases
- Making delivery fast and affordable
- Including thank you notes
Competing with large, more established brands is a huge problem for new startups, but it is not impossible. These tips should help you to acquire customers from the get-go, and it is then a matter of retaining these customers by providing high-quality products, affordable prices, and fast and efficient service. It may seem that you are at a disadvantage as a smaller company, but you can use this to your advantage to connect with your target customer and provide superior service to your larger competitors.
1 comment
User engagement is key! Thanks for the article Thomas.
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