Competitive Strategies to Outgrow your Competition

Small business owners know that they have to remain competitive in order to be successful. Not only do small business owners have to think about other small businesses in the industry, but they also have to compete with larger, more well-known brands. What are the best ways to go toe-to-toe with your competitors? Here are some of the most effective strategies to outgrow your competition:

Franchising

Expanding into new markets will certainly help you outgrow your competitors, but many small business owners do not have the time and resources to run multiple locations. To avoid this problem, consider franchising your business. Franchising gives you the opportunity to open new stores and enter new markets without having to run the day-to-day operations at each new location. This is a great way to quickly grow your business and beat your competitors without spreading yourself too thin.

But, be sure to take the time to research new markets before you expand into them. You must look at the customer base and the competitors to determine if a market is a good fit. Remember, not every market will be the right market for your business.

Competitive Angle

What makes your company different—and better—than the competition? It could be the quality of your ingredients, commitment to giving back to the community, low price of your products, or exceptional customer service. Take a good look at your business and identify your competitive angle so you can start to flaunt it. This competitive angle should be incorporated into all of your marketing and  social media campaigns, as well as your website.  Your customers need to clearly see what makes you different and why this difference is so valuable. If you are able to communicate this to your audience, your business will quickly grow.

Intelligent Innovations

Some small businesses think the key to outgrowing their competitors is innovation. It’s true that innovation plays an important role in a company’s growth, but that does not mean that businesses should introduce as many new, innovative products as possible. In order to grow, businesses should focus on the quality and relevance of their innovations, rather than the number of innovations they produce. Why? Research has shown that the most successful brands introduce 40% fewer products than their competitors. Even though they produce fewer innovative products, these brands are able to turn their innovations into business growth. This is because they closely analyze their customers’ wants and needs in order to develop new products instead of just creating new products for the sake of being innovative.

The lesson here is that you don’t have to introduce the sleekest and most technologically advanced products in order to outgrow your competitors—just give customers what they want. Even something as simple as introducing the same product but in a different pack size can be considered innovative if that’s what your customers want.

As a small business, you may not have the budget or manpower to implement all of these ideas at once. That’s why it’s important to carefully review each of these options to determine which is right for your business. Then, watch as your business takes off and outgrows all of your competitors!

About Nick Rojas

Nick Rojas is a business consultant and journalist who lives in Chicago and his hometown Los Angeles with his wife. His work often discusses social media, marketing, and branding in regards to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).