Dear Business Owner, your business is not the first of its kind. I'm sure you know this.

Several business owners just like you have had that business idea before you and implemented it. You're probably even in business because you saw someone else doing what you currently do.

That's why in every business, no matter how narrow your niche, there are always competitors. Competition shouldn't scare you, ever!

Competition exists to show that there's a market for whatever product or service you and your competitors are selling. Knowing this, I'll always recommend that you start your business with a product or service that has a ready market.

That being said, it now comes down to the aspect of differentiation. How can your brand/business stand out? You don't want to be just another shoe seller, laundry man, graphics designer, bookshop, grocery store etc. There's already too many people doing exactly what you're doing. You must find your unique voice in an already crowded market and here's how you can do that.

1. Give a unique value proposition. Differentiation is all about distinguishing your brand from others. One way to do this profitably is by identifying a problem in your industry that isn't being solved, solve that, and thread it into your marketing message as your unique promise.

This is easily ignored by most entrepreneurs and business owners. Take the time to do a market research and find out what your competitors are either not doing right, well enough or a problem they're not solving. You can spot this by paying attention to customer reviews and complaints.

Let me give you a quick example to illustrate. iPhone, for all their sophistication and quality, still have battery issues. You and I know this.

That is why other companies in the phone industry have taken to making phones with a more reliable battery.

A brand like Gionee won't make sophistication their value proposition. iPhone has that locked already. So what did they do instead? Spotted something iPhone wasn't doing well enough, made theirs better and built their marketing message around that and earned their share of the phone market.

Same thing is applicable to MTN, and Glo in Nigeria. What did MTN promise her customers? To be everywhere they went. Glo, on the other hand have told their customers they're the grandmasters of data.

Two brands providing identical services but both have managed to stand out with a unique promise. And if you noticed, they've both kept to their promises. You'd barely hear complaints about poor coverage for MTN, or complaints about data rates for Glo.

MTN has done theirs so well that a telecoms brand in Nigeria that tries to compete by offering the same promise would definitely crash and burn.

2. Play to your strengths and constantly improve. Knowing your brand's strengths is one way to go about differentiation. Run your SWOT analysis and identity your strengths and amplify it in your marketing message. Words like "best", "top", "first" etc are powerful in setting your brand apart from others and showing how much better you are in certain areas than the competition.

Your strength could be your unfair advantage. That one thing you possess that other brands don't. This is not always the case, which is why I've decided to treat unfair advantage as a different point.

3. Unfair advantage. As I mentioned already, this is that one thing that your brand possesses and others don't. Consider Pepsi and Coca Cola. Pepsi will never taste like Coca Cola and vice versa. For them, their unfair advantage is their trademark taste.

For you it can be the quality of your product, the way your food taste, which is why a restaurant brand should absolutely document their processes and repeat severally to master the entire processes that gives their food a unique taste. This is rule number 1 in franchising, CONSISTENCY.

So what's that thing that your competition doesn't have? Find it, know it and thread it into your marketing message.

4. Be innovative. You'd always lead the way in your industry by being innovative. Customers follow and observe trends in the media. How are you leveraging on these trends? How are you leveraging on recent tech advancements? Has your business ever been first to take advantage of new tech advancements? It doesn't have to be first in the world. Even just first in your locality will do. Your brand will naturally be seen as the leader in any industry when you're innovative.

Consider the iPhone again, they set the pace. Other brands follow. Other phone brands try to copy the iPhone brand. When you think about top phone brands in the world, iPhone always comes to mind or Samsung, and it's because they're innovative.

So what are you doing to be innovative as a brand? It doesn't have to be some fantastic tech idea.

Consider fashion brands as well. The leading brands are innovative. Fashion trends change because of these brands.

5. Invest in branding. While all the points I've mentioned already are aspects of branding, I'll focus more on visuals here.

What other way to differentiate your brand than giving a face to your business? You shouldn't still be running a faceless business in this day and age. Get a logo, pay attention to psychology when choosing brand colours, get a business card and other important brand identities.

If you want to stand out, then your visuals are absolutely important.

Thanks for reading to the end.

I'd be happy to help you create a unique brand that stands out in the market. Kindly WhatsApp/call 08153943075

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Thank you Sir

mrsage:
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