5 Strategies to Give Your Business a Competitive Edge

As a small business owner, you’re facing big-business competition and often overwhelming odds. But great advantage can be gained when you learn to play big-business games with techniques proven to give your company a competitive edge in strategy, management, and growth.

If your business is not unique, if it does not have a competitive edge, then you are in a commodity business. You cannot compete on price and you cannot survive because of a lack of demand.

Here are 5 key strategies to give your business a competitive edge and bring it to the top of the minds of your target market.

Find your customers’ sweet spot

There are a few key ingredients to a successful business, but the most important one is finding your customers’ ‘sweet spot’. This is where the value you provide meets their expectations and creates customer satisfaction.

Being the best in your niche is great, but that’s not enough to compete or win. Customers don’t care about niches and edges. They care about the results. Finding your customers’ sweet spot is a strategic way to get an edge on the market and beat out your competitors!

When you know how to promote your business in a way that maximizes this sweet spot, your business will grow and become increasingly profitable. Think of your customers’ sweet spot as the intersection between what they are searching for and what you have to offer. Here are four ways to find it.

• Identify your target.
• Consider their preferences.
• Find out what they want.
• Set yourself apart from the competition.

Niche down

The new trend for businesses to specialize in a niche market is important if you want your business to be one of the top contenders. Consumers are no longer simply buying a product, now they are searching for an experience. Thus, it is essential that you learn how to niche down so as to give your business a competitive edge.

The whole point of niche marketing is that it is niche-oriented. A niche is a very tight target market where you can really apply intensive and effective marketing to a smaller, more specialized group.

Niche marketing has many benefits, including that you have a special advantage over your competition when it comes to targeting your customers. Broadly speaking, when you concentrate your efforts on one target customer, you can offer more value to them.

Leverage new technology

As a business owner, you understand how crucial technology is to your organization. You’ve invested in new technology to streamline and improve many different areas of your business – from increased security, efficiency, and productivity with newer equipment, including computers and tablets. ​

In today’s tech-driven world, the businesses that lead their industries aren’t just digitizing for the sake of it. They are using technology to give their business a competitive edge.

When it comes to leveraging new technology to give your business a competitive edge, there’s much more that can be done than what you are currently doing. A simple change in your workflow can unlock additional opportunities largely unknown to you.

Here are some tips on how your business can leverage technology so as to be efficient and grow.

Exploit your competitor’s weakness and make it your strength

What would happen if you could exploit your competitors’ weaknesses and make them your strengths? The answer is simple: You will gain a competitive edge.

Your competitor is your best teacher. Make a strategy to turn their weakness into your strength and gain a competitive edge with reverse planning. When you have an inkling a competitor is vulnerable, exploit that weakness in your market by making it your strength.

If your competitor is loud, be quiet. If they’re a bully, be kind. That’s not just a platitude; it’s an actual strategy that can be used to position your brand more powerfully than your competition. This type of strategic positioning is surprisingly effective in the business world—so much so that Businessweek has deemed it one of “10 Principles for Building Your Brand’s Reputation.

Protect your business

Many business people are not aware that the legal system offers a means to protect their trademarks, copyrights, and patents. Learn how you can protect your business to gain a competitive edge. Protect all Intellectual Property including but not limited to names, slogans, logos, designs, inventions (including software), copyrights, and patents.

In addition, in a world where everything seems to be under threat of theft, terrorism, and natural disasters, protecting your business and assets with covers from proven providers like State insurance may seem like an overwhelming task. But given the competitive landscape we all face today, it’s essential that your business is not as susceptible to these threats. As cyber terrorists grow more sophisticated in their techniques for infiltrating systems, organizations need to be even more vigilant and proactive in defending their data and other assets.

Final thoughts

In a cluttered market, you need to stand out and grab consumers’ attention. Lead generation has become a highly competitive field, but it can be more fruitful if you prepare, starting with the proven strategies above to give your business a competitive edge.