Thousands of startups open and shut every year, forced by a fiercely competitive environment. Below are 6 differentiators that will help you stay above the crowd and prove yourself a winner:-
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Tell a Captivating Story
People love stories and to draw them to yours, you must ensure that they understand where you are coming from. You have to illustrate your pitch in such a manner that people can instantly relate and put themselves in your shoes. It needs to have logic, emotion and recall value. Using the power of storytelling through various channels like emails and social media, you can enhance a brand’s image, significantly.
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Acknowledge What Makes You Different
You are probably not the first one to create your product or service and even if you are, there must be some competition that is working on something similar. This is why it’s essential to set yourself apart by creating uniqueness in brand. One such example is Swiggy, a food ordering company. Swiggy, entered the market when players like Zomato and Food Panda were already present. What made it stand out from the competition was its delivery structure. Swiggy maintains its own batch of delivery boys. This ensures a predictable delivery outcome and more personable and satisfying experience. Swiggy also claims to take a shorter delivery time as compared to other food delivery apps. And these two USPs help in enhancing and monetizing the brand.
“One of the largest mistakes I’ve seen is defining a market too broadly.” – Jon Stolmeier, HappAppily
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Narrow down Your Target Audience
Most startup owners choose to believe that their product or service could cater to just about anyone. It’s easier to determine your target audience, widely but distinguishing the slight variations of needs and interests requires much scrutinizing. Pitching to the right people, in the right manner is important and can be achieved, if you can identify who the different buyers are and what are their budgets and motivations. Knowing your audience expertly will gain you distinct attention and strong response.
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Speed: Move as Fast As You Can
Success in startups often correlates to speed. With limited resources, it’s more practical to first, market the core product and then, make adjustments as more information comes in. Not having a concrete plan can enable the team to learn as they go and not be hesitant about making mistakes. Moreover, regular customer feedback and tests will support faster growth and revenue generation.
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Provide Exceptional Customer Support
When consumers feel that you care about them, it builds hope, trust and what you call, brand loyalty. Businesses like Amazon and Apple have grown, in large part, due to their relentless focus and approach towards providing great service. When you enter an Apple store, you’ll observe that the objective is to provide a fascinating experience as opposed to simply sell products. Similarly, if there has ever been a discrepancy with Amazon, the service providers are quick to resolve the issue and never blame the customer. These are core marketing techniques, and if applied intelligently, can yield your startup remarkable benefits.
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Invest in Marketing
Your start up may not have the budget to employ a thousand people, but ensure, that the ones you do, broadcast your company in every way they can and impress potential customers with confidence and conviction. Applying sales and marketing methods that are unique, creative and out-of-the-box can help widen your target audience, behaviorally and psychographically. Therefore, a radical and disruptive marketing head will be critical for the company’s advancement.