3 Ways to Beat Your Competition

by Bob Leduc

Published on this site: April 5th, 2005 - See more articles from this month...

You will always have competitors. You cannot control their activity ...but you can minimize their impact on your business. Here are 3 ways you can position yourself to generate sales with little or no competition.

1. Use Unconventional Marketing Methods
   
   Most businesses use the same marketing methods as their competitors. Start using some unconventional marketing methods to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Your unique marketing will attract more attention and generate more sales.
   
   For example, most online businesses only use online marketing methods to generate traffic to their website. By including some offline marketing, they can bypass the heavy competition online and produce more traffic to their site ...and more sales.
   
   Tip: Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. Postcards are inexpensive and easy to use. Most recipients who ignore other types of advertising will read a brief message on a postcard.
   
   
2. Uncover Overlooked Markets
   
   You cannot avoid competition when you market to the same prospects as your competitors. Look for some new niche markets you and your competitors overlooked. You may uncover a market you can dominate with little or no competition.
   
   Then revise your ads, web pages and other sales messages so they appeal specifically to the unique interests and needs of prospects in your new niche market.
   
   For example, I recently spoke with a network marketer who singled out the following 3 niche markets. She customized her sales approach for each market to emphasize a different major benefit.
   
   a) Stay at home moms: emphasizes the advantages of working part-time at home.
   
   b) Corporate employees: emphasizes the opportunity to escape the corporate environment and build a business of their own.
   
   c) Retirees: emphasizes the benefits of generating extra income without schedules or supervision.
   
   
3. Establish Yourself as an Expert
   
   One of the most effective ways to beat your competition is to establish yourself as an expert in a narrowly defined area of your business. Prospective customers will perceive you as an authority with special insight that can help them in a specific area.
   
   You don't have to abandon your current marketing to establish yourself as an expert. Just select a unique product you offer or a service you perform especially well and emphasize it in your marketing. Include testimonials from customers and endorsements from other experts to prove you are one of the best.
   
   Tip: A service business that specializes can often charge a higher fee. Customers or clients expect to pay more for specialized service. Some will even consider your higher fee as evidence you are the ultimate expert.

You will have competitors as long as you are in business. But these 3 ways of positioning yourself will minimize their impact and allow you to generate sales with little or no competition.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV .