There has never been an easier time to start a business. In countries like the UK, the process of registering a limited company costs about the same as buying two fancy coffees, and the time it takes to do it is also about as long as you’d stand waiting in line for the barista to finish crafting them.
For those that don’t live in countries with such liberal company formation rules and for those who have become “digital nomads”, it’s still really easy. By becoming an e-resident of Estonia, you can set up a company in the European Union and trade with the rest of the world with relative ease.
The internet also means that opening bank accounts, finding suppliers, and marketing to your customers is easier than at any time in the past.
This is, undoubtedly, great news, but it doesn’t come without consequences as it means that the market is crowded in just about every industry.
Therefore, it is absolutely vital that you find your unique selling point (USP) so that your customers know why they should choose you over a competitor. There are several ways that you can make your brand stand out from the crowd, but here are some ideas to consider while planning your business.
Offer the Best Price
Price is a common way that businesses try to compete with each other. It’s pretty easy to do, just charge less for your products or services than your competitors and you’ll soon have plenty of price-sensitive customers knocking on your door.
The problem with using price as your USP is that it’s really easy for someone to take it away from you. There will nearly always be someone ready to charge less and most price-sensitive customers are fickle, so they’ll be out the door as quickly as they came in.
There are some businesses that make this work for them though. Costco and Ryanair, for example, both offer low prices and are rarely undercut. Amazon often manages to offer the lowest prices thanks to its huge economies of scale, though it does have other USPs to fall back on.
Provide Convenience
Imagine getting home from work. You’re hungry, so you decide to make a sandwich. You open the bread bin, only to find it empty, scuppering your plans. You decide to head to the shops to buy more, but you don’t want to drive across town to the big supermarket.
Instead, you make the 3-minute journey to the local convenience store. Bread costs a little more there, but you save yourself time and hassle, making the increased cost worth it.
Your business can also provide more convenience as its USP. It doesn’t have to be a physical store either, as you can offer an easier or faster service online to be more convenient for your customers.
In the world of online sports betting, most sportsbooks compete on price, using free bet no deposit bonus codes and other similar offers to attract new customers. However, the ones that have grown to be the biggest have the easiest apps and most intuitive interfaces that allow their customers to find the wagers they want to place.
Offer a Personalized Service
Some people prefer to feel like the businesses they work with really understand their needs. They might still visit a travel agent in person to get personal advice about places to stay, or a butcher to get advice on how to cook the perfect steak.
Personalized service, at least in this traditional sense, usually costs more as it is time-consuming for the business. The customers that like a personal service are usually happy to pay this premium though.
More recently, digital businesses have begun to use technology to provide a personalized service without needing to commit as much time. Using algorithms that consider the previous purchases or other choices of a customer, businesses can automate the process of making personalized recommendations.
This is something we see in the streaming industry, with companies like Netflix using watch history and the ratings you give to videos to make suggestions of what to try next.
You could adopt either of these approaches to offering a personal service, or you could mix the two together. Using live chat or social media, you could have one-to-one conversations with your customers to offer them suggestions on what products are most suitable to their needs or advice on how to get the most out of their purchases.