Smaller companies often struggle to find their footing in a world overrun by huge brands. There are countless companies out there with plenty of amazing products and services to offer. It’s hard to convince your audience that you’re the best choice for them.
However, just because you might be the “underdog”, doesn’t mean that you can’t come out ahead in your niche. There are ways for smaller companies to pull away from the bigger corporations and earn their space in the industry.
From meaningful efforts, like creating stronger relationships with your target audience, to simple adjustments, like updating your marketing strategies, you’d be surprised how easy it can be to give yourself that competitive edge.
Today, we will look at just some of the best ways that you can get ahead of the game.
1. Develop Your Own App
Developing an app seems like quite the challenge at first, particularly if you don’t know much about technology and coding.
However, as the tech landscape continues to evolve, it’s becoming increasingly simple for business leaders to find the talent they need to help them reach their goals.
App creation takes some time, particularly when it comes to planning exactly what you want to build for your audience. Luckily, if you know your audience, you’re already on the right track.
Remember, the purpose of an app is to give your customers more meaningful ways to connect with your business.
Start by thinking about what your customers need from you. In an app, will they be looking for a quicker and easier way to shop, tapping into personalized sales offers?
On the other hand, will they be looking for something to keep them up-to-date on the latest news and developments in your company?
2. Create Educational Content
Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to connect with an audience – no matter the size of your business. With the right content, you can reach out to customers with valuable information that demonstrates your thought leadership.
Keep in mind that clients are looking for evidence that they can trust the company they’re going to be working with.
Start by doing your research. The content you create needs to do two things. First, you need to ensure that you’re answering the most important questions of your target audience. Second, you need to ensure that you’re adhering to the requirements of the search engine algorithms.
Find out what questions your customers are asking by speaking to your sales team, reaching out to your marketing professionals, and checking out online forums or social media pages.
Once you know what your clients are looking for, you can begin finding out which long-tail keywords are the most competitive for your brand.
Remember, long-tail, and local keywords are generally easier to compete for if you’re a small business.
3. Connect with Other Small Businesses
When you first start your own company, it’s easy to assume that everyone is your enemy. But that doesn’t have to be the case. There are plenty of other small businesses out there in your space that might be able to help you grow.
Reaching out to other organizations that you can form partnerships with is one of the most effective ways to get an edge on the competition for various reasons. You can organize your strategies with partner businesses to offer exclusive sales and promotions that benefit both companies and your local community.
At the same time, working with other small businesses helps you to leverage some of that company’s existing influence in the market. This ensures that you can gain the trust of the consumers you want to reach as quickly as possible.
Customers might be worried about interacting with a new business. Showing prospects that you have the trust of a company they already know helps boost credibility.
4. Find Your Niche
Many small business owners start with big plans and ambitious goals. They want to take over the world with an incredible idea. However, the chances are that you won’t be able to achieve anything close to that straight away. It’s important to start as small as possible.
Finding your niche means looking for a group of people under-served and unappreciated in your industry. You need to ensure that the niche isn’t too broad, as this will put you in competition with a broader selection of alternative companies.
On the other hand, choosing a niche that’s too small might also restrict your business.
Look for a sub-section of an industry that you feel comfortable and confident in. Using your size as an advantage here, you can deliver unique and meaningful experiences to the customers that most larger corporations simply overlook and ignore.
At the same time, nothing is stopping you from gradually growing and spreading into new niches over time.
5. Create Relationships with Clients
Today’s customers aren’t just looking for the best set of features on a product or the most impressive price. Your clients want to feel that they have a meaningful and emotional connection with you.
Unfortunately, many larger companies struggle to make this connection with their consumers, because they’re catering to so many people at once.
One of the best things about being a small business is that you can reach out to your consumers and interact with them on a meaningful level. Knowing how to approach and communicate with your potential customers is essential, as it will help you to strengthen your brand image.
The more you connect with your clients and show that you understand what they need from you, the more likely it is that you can attract more major customers your way in the future.
Give your community the personalized experience they’re looking for. You’ll stand out from the crowd with your exceptional customer service.
Competing with Larger Businesses
When you’re a small company, it’s often difficult to see a world where you can compete with the leading organizations all around you.
Most big companies have already developed a massive community of customers to follow them, and they usually have a lot more money to invest in new opportunities.
So, how do you compete with these larger corporations?
It’s simpler than it seems. Using the steps above, from finding your niche to creating deeper relationships with your clients, small companies can easily unlock new opportunities to grow and thrive.
Once you find something that works for you, keep investing in your brand’s growth and potential and watch your business grow too!
Author – Ashley Wilson
Ashley Wilson is a digital nomad and writer for hire, specialized in business and tech topics. In her self-care time, she practices yoga via Youtube. She has been known to reference movies in casual conversation and enjoys trying out new food. You can get in touch with Ashley via Twitter.
