Standing Out

When starting a business, there is a typical question that is posed to the owner, "Why should I use your company over all the others that are in your market?"

This is a scary question. Why should they? What can I do as an owner to make customers forsake the companies that they formerly bought products from? It can be difficult to stomach, especially for someone like me who doesn't like to step on anyone's toes. However, in order to be a successful business owner, I have to be ruthless, clever, and wise in regards to winning over customers, while still being legal and ethical. It is a very hard line to walk.

When coming up with a new business venture and figuring out your "competitive advantage," I have read a few tips and tricks to help you out. May I share them with you?

1. Stand out.

Find some way that you are different. Whether it's a catchy name for your business, or a certain way you do business in your particular field, you absolutely MUST be different, otherwise most customers will not get out of their comfort zone of purchasing and you will be left behind. I've seen and sampled many different pizza places, for example, and each one has its own niche. The top 3 "Pizza Giants," Pizza Hut, Papa John's, and Domino's, all have a different reason that they tell you why you should buy from them. Pizza Hut goes after variety and offers an expansive line of pizza products, toppings, sides, and more to try to get you to branch out and try new things. Papa John's slogan is, "Better ingredients, better pizza," meaning that they want you to buy their pizza because it's made with better stuff. Domino's touts its amazing delivery service, saying in most cases that your pizza will be there in 30 minutes or less. As you can see, while they are all in the pizza business, they are targeting different groups of people.

2. Know your demographics.

Demographics means a number of people in a certain area who fit a certain criteria, for example, how many white males between 20-30 years old living in Hanceville. When looking for who you plan to sell your product to, know not only who you plan to target with your product, but also if it is a good idea to based on the number of people who fit your target customer who live in the area you plan to do business. You may have a great business idea, but you set up shop in a poor location. Your sales will not meet your goal there, but they may in a different area. So know who you want to do business with and where it is a good idea to do that at.

There are many other ways to make sure your product is successful. What have I missed? Tell me down in the comments!