Last Updated on May 25, 2021 by James W
The internet has made it possible for small startups to compete with behemoths in their respective industries. Gone are the days when small companies were forced to close shop because they didn’t have enough money to match a global or national brand’s budget. So if you’re a startup, don’t fret. You can now go toe to toe against bigger companies if you know how.
Here are five ways to help you compete with big companies in your industry or community:
- Start A Strong Digital Presence for Your Small Business
Startups need to have solid products and reliable service. After you’re sure that you have something good to offer, you must concentrate on establishing your startup’s online presence. The internet has made it easier for businesses to develop marketing and advertising campaigns.
But before you focus on any social media platforms, you need to have your own piece of online real estate. You need to have a business website. It’ll serve as the base for all your digital content, from blog posts to video uploads. Even your social media efforts should point to your website if you want to bolster your online presence.
That said, you need to create content that will effectively get your message across to your target market. It’d help if you had an effective SEO strategy. Only with relevant keywords will your customer base find your company online. Make it a point to use a proven tool to track groups of keywords on Google and other search engines and help you connect with your target market.
- Be Proactive In Addressing Customer Feedback
Remember, the lifeblood of every business is its existing customers. So as a startup, you must take the feedback you receive from them seriously. Don’t be defensive if you receive criticism. Instead, use customer feedback to improve your product or your service.
Startups should be actively seeking suggestions and reactions from everyone, particularly their customers. Sometimes, it pays to reach out to your loyal clients and ask them to give you honest feedback on how your business can improve and better serve them. People will be more willing to participate if you encourage interaction and offer gifts, rebates, or discounts in exchange for the time they spend helping you assess your product or service performance.
- Don’t Be Afraid To Adopt Marketing Trends
Many startup owners feel afraid to try new marketing trends because they think such strategies are risky, if not a total waste of time and money. Most businesses prefer to cling to traditional strategies because they don’t want to commit mistakes.
Since you’re a startup, you can afford to be flexible and adventurous. You can act fast when it comes to digital marketing. The size of your business can be your advantage over industry giants when testing new strategies. For big companies, a new marketing strategy needs to undergo several bureaucratic in-house levels to get approval. It usually takes weeks for big enterprises before they can launch a new marketing campaign.
That said, here are some essential 2021 online trends for startups that you can try:
- Double down on social media as your selling platform
- Continue creating online events to tap into new audiences and markets
- Concentrate optimization only for social media sites relevant to your target audience
- Build Your Business Reputation
Reputation is vital, especially if you’re just starting. You can compete with big enterprises by establishing good business practices and a customer-centric approach in your local market. Again, a stellar customer relationship is critical, followed by a reliable product or service. You always need to answer or respond to customer queries and feedback on time.
Word of mouth is crucial in the digital world. Be sure your customers would love to refer you to their friends and family. You reach this level only if you provide customers with a great experience.
- Create Branded Content To Gain Market Traction
Branded content is another marketing trend into which you can dip your toes. Even if you’re a startup, you can develop creative, unique, and fun ways to let your niche market know about your company and brand. This trend is also an effective strategy to let your customers know about your company’s mission statement and core values.
Unlike content marketing which focuses on selling products, branded content offers value to customers while displaying your brand logo. It’s not an in-your-face type of advertisement. Branded content subtly shows the product or brand’s features by providing information that’s important for customers. You can create branded content through videos, infographics, online quizzes, podcasts, or vlogs.
Final Thoughts
With the help of search engine optimization, digital marketing, and excellent customer service, small companies can compete or even beat heavyweights in their local market. For startups to succeed, they need to be creative, embrace the advantages of their size, use local reputation as leverage, and take advantage of online marketing tools. It’s not simple to compete with big businesses, but it’s achievable.
