Businesses sell products and services of different qualities. Competition is intense for almost any business. With a limited supply of buyers and a multitude of companies and their products or services to choose from, buyers generally have their choice of which businesses to frequent.

Stand Out from the Competition

A perplexing question and marketing objective for any business is how to stand out from the competition. Why will a purchaser buy from one company over another? Is it quality, uniqueness, brand awareness, benefits, or pricing? There are so many factors for a purchaser to consider.

An overriding philosophy contributing to the success of many businesses is being the “best” or attempting to be the “best” at what they service or sell. What is your niche as a business, and how does your company build a strategy around what you do best? First, think about what your “best” can be. What does offering that “high-level” niche that you are great at look like, and how does it compare with other experiences?

• Offering the best “specialty” dish if a restaurant
• Offering the best online shopping experience with ease of ordering or offering free two-day shipping on certain purchases
• Providing the best medical or dental services
• Being the best car dealership for quality and service
• Having the best software for its intended use
• Delivering the best-manufactured products on time
• Building the best office building or apartment complex
• Being the most responsive and providing the best solutions if you are a service-based business. 

Being the best doesn’t mean being the best in every market to every purchaser of a similar product or service — being the best means being the best in the class of products or services you offer for sale. Luxury cars do not compete with economy compact cars. Still, luxury cars do compete against other luxury cars while at the same time economy compact cars compete against other economy compact cars.

So, being the best for a business means it strives to provide the best possible products or services in competition with other companies providing similar products and services to similar target markets. Therefore, a business is not competing with the entire universe of other companies in the same industry but competes with other companies targeting identical markets with similar products or services.

What is a business to do?

Focus and concentrate on being the best; it can be the best restaurant, the best doctor, the best retailer of children’s clothing, the best home builder, the best car dealer, the best tractor manufacturer, or the best computer maker. If all things are equal in a product or service, human nature dictates that purchasers will purchase the product or service with the lowest cost. Differentiation is a key for businesses to command higher prices, and offering products or services that are unquestionably superior to the competition is a form of product or service differentiation. So, when building your strategy, these are some things to take into consideration.

Doesn’t Come Easy

Of course, being the “best” doesn’t come easy, but any small business can strive to be the best. This should be the mission of any company: To exceed customer expectations by providing the best products or services! If this is the business’s mission, then every transaction should produce an experience that never disappoints a customer and creates loyal customers for life. The customer’s experience with your brand should be so outstanding that your customers share this experience with other potential customers resulting in long-term loyalty and growth for your business. Ensure you give your employees the resources and authority to deliver that excellence to your customers, and you are sure to win customers for life!

Ultimate Goal

So, don’t settle for being good; instead, push yourself and your business to greatness. Empower your team to strive for excellence when it comes to providing service to your customers.

• • Create an excellent experience for your customers
  • Show empathy in knowing the needs of your customers
  • Be friendly and use eye contact when engaging with your customers
  • Provide value at the right price for your customers
  • NEVER stop improving, always looking for better ways to develop and enhance your customer’s experience
  • Be consistent in supporting your customer’s experience

A business that offers a great customer experience will have much higher loyalty and retention rates and increase referrals and word of mouth about how great your business is.

“Good is the enemy of great. That’s why so few things become great.” Jim Collins, “Good to Great”