In today's digital space, the business ecosystem has shifted to provide equal access to the internet, where established businesses and start-ups can thrive. The growing number of businesses means stiffer competition. Thus, it has become essential for companies to strategize how to differentiate themselves from others.
To find out how to make your business stand out amongst many digital competitors, you'll need sound strategies to break away from the rest. Below are 8 approaches you can take to differentiate your business in the digital space.
8 Strategies to Stand Out in Today's Digital Space
- Find your brand's voice
A brand voice is more than just how you write your copy or the words you use (although those help). It's about creating a distinct persona for your brand that customers can tell apart from others. It's important to nail this element of your brand or risk being mistaken for something else. There are a few ways to find yours.
The first is to clarify what your competitor's voice sounds like. Are your competitors quirky or serious? Professional or less formal? What types of content do they mainly produce online (e.g., videos, podcasts, photos, etc.)? Knowing your business's voice will help you understand where you are in the digital space. - Study consumer behavior
Even if the products you sell use the most innovative technologies, if they don't benefit your target consumer's life in any way, you won't make it in the digital space. This is why researching consumer behavior is so important.
Ecommerce services such as Rush and social media platforms already provide you with data and statistics on your audience's behavior. Use these numbers to understand when consumers interact with your business the most or to determine your best-selling products.
Another way to do consumer behavior research is by talking to one of your customers. Ask them what they like and dislike about your business. According to HubSpot, customer interviews will help you discover consumer pain points you could provide solutions for and know how to improve your ecommerce business. - Deliver excellent customer service
Most business owners understand that retaining customers costs less than getting new ones. One way to continue nurturing your existing customer base is by having a loyalty program. About 73% of customers are likely to become free promoters and advocates of your business if you have a loyalty program, letting your brand enjoy word-of-mouth marketing.
Providing value to your customers, such as through exclusive discounts or invites to product launches, will help you build a long-lasting relationship with them, helping you keep your business relevant for years. - Optimize content for mobile
According to Statista, the number of hours spent on mobile phones by Filipinos in 2021 reached almost five and a half hours per day. This highlights how important it is to optimize your content for mobile devices.
One way to optimize your content for mobile is to focus on visuals rather than pure text when sharing information about promotions or announcements. If you need to use text, keep it short; try blocking chunks of text to make it easier to read on the smaller screen. - Engage with your target audience
Simply being a place to sell products online isn't just what ecommerce is about. It's also about cultivating a loyal customer base.
Knowing how to engage customers in the digital space plays a substantial role in your customer retention efforts. If your customers are engaged, they're more likely to buy from you.
One way is to do live chatting with them. According to Econsultancy, 73% of customers show high satisfaction levels when talking with a business in real-time.
Engaging with your customers also helps with your consumer behavior research. You get to understand your target audience more and learn how to tailor your services specifically for your niche. - Be easily searchable
It won't matter how good your products are if your customers can't find you. That's why your online business needs to have a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
SEO is essentially the process of increasing the ranking of your business' website on search engine results pages. So, suppose you sell shoes. If a potential customer searches for shoes to buy on Google, your website could appear first on the search engine results page if your site is well optimized, especially for the keyword you're targeting.
Your SEO strategy works hand-in-hand with your research on customer behavior, leading you to keyword research. Once you understand what your target audience are searching for online and what keywords they search for, you can carve out a unique space for your business online. - Build a memorable website
There are different types of ecommerce platforms out there you can choose from to host your business. Among the many ecommerce trends to keep up with, having an unconventional design is one of them.
Using a fresh layout or adding interactive videos and photos could help make your ecommerce page stand out from the growing trend of websites looking more and more identical.
- Share what you stand for
Cause marketing has become more and more popular in recent years. A survey by Deloitte in 2021 found that Gen Z and Millennial consumers channel their energies into holding themselves and organizations accountable for their actions.
The survey also found that 73% of millennials feel businesses only focus on their own agendas. Additionally, only 47% of millennials believe that businesses are a force for good in society.
These findings underscore how important it is to let your customers know what you stand for and which advocacies you are passionate about, such as climate change and gender equality. This helps build trust and a longer-term relationship with your customers.
Rush to Stand Out
With more businesses creating noise in the digital space and the competition getting tighter, developing strategies to stand out is crucial to your business' success. Much like in the real world, your business needs to create its own storefront in the digital space.
While the best ecommerce platform for you may depend on your business, you can consider Rush's eStore. It's an innovative online store builder that allows you to create your own branded website, engage with your customers easily, and handle product deliveries all in one online store management system.
Rush gives you the right tools to bring you closer to your customers at every stage of the consumer journey. Book a demo to learn how Rush can benefit your growing ecommerce business.
