Marketing Tips to Trump Your Competition

Business owners all over the nation are feeling the pinch from new small businesses cropping up in every niche imaginable. New businesses offline and online are starting to crowd markets that previously were dominated by only a few niche businesses. And, due to the Internet, consumers can buy anything they want from the business of their choice from the comfort of their homes. Location doesn't hinder buying practices any longer.

To make sure you don't lose customers in the crowded business market, try to employ these tips into your marketing plan:

1. Know your competition. You need to understand as much as possible about your competition - what products do they sell? Who is their marketing targets? If their targets are the same as yours, you need to know so that you can be sure to offer incentives to your target market to shop with you instead of your competition. This information can help you directly: let's say a brochure printing company offers many types of brochure printing services that their competitor doesn't - the brochure printing company needs to bring that fact out in the open and spell it out for potential customers. If one company can print full color brochures and the other one can't, that's a distinct advantage that customers need to know about and it only comes from knowing the competition.

Also, iIf you find that your competition offers products or services that are selling well, you may want to take a look at your offerings to see if you can expand your product line to include similar products to gain some market share.

2. Try a new target market. If you feel you've reached everyone in your target market, then you may need to go after a new target to expand your business. You could extend your product line to include more people that might want your products or you could offer variations of your product that will garner sales from an entirely new set of customers. If you target a new market, you'll need to come up with some different marketing materials - full color brochures that work for one group may not work for another. A television commercial that appeals to one group, like teens, won't have the same effect if you turn your sights onto an adult niche. Be sure to alter your marketing campaign accordingly.

3. Mix up your sales techniques. If you're currently selling only through your brick-and-mortar store, adding another sales technique, such as catalogs or on the Internet, can increase your sales. By giving your customers more choices to reach you, it'll be easier for them to spend money with you rather than your competition.

4. Don't only use discounts. Although offering discounts is one of the more widely-used marketing tactics, that doesn't necessarily make it the best one. If you and your competition offer the same product or service, and you discount yours, you could end up looking cheap and customers will get suspicious. People might wonder what's wrong with your company that makes you have to offer a discount. So instead of going the discount route, offer something with more value - like one-on-one time with a consultant.

5. Get customer feedback. You may think you know what your customers want, but the definition of what they want can change in an instant. Make sure that you keep up with their changing tastes and trends by asking them - either directly when they're in your store or through surveys. You can post a survey on your Web site, email surveys or send them through the postal mail. If you use brochure printing as a marketing tactic, include a link to the survey on your Web site. When you solicit this feedback, be sure to include an incentive, like a free or discounted item to make it worth your customers' time to give you this important feedback.