Tips for Online Businesses to Stand Out Over their Competition

In the last decade, ecommerce and online businesses have exploded in popularity. With the increasing availability of high-speed internet, smartphones, and tablets, more and more people are shopping and doing business online.

This growth has led to a surge in the number of online businesses, making it more difficult for new entrants to stand out and succeed. Whether you’re an online shop or a coach or consultant, have you ever felt like you’re shouting into the wind online and no one’s hearing your message?

With so much competition online, it can feel daunting to stand out so your people can find you. You have so much to offer them, if they could only find you.

In this article, we’ll talk about how online business owners can stand out from the crowd and the competition to make their mark in their industry.

So why are people turning to online businesses now more than ever?

Doing business online has several advantages for consumers: 

Convenience: We’re all super busy these days juggling work, family, and more. Doing business with companies online is convenient. No need to leave your home to find a product or service you need. Instead, you can log on and search for what you need without ever leaving home.

24/7 Availability: Don’t have time to shop or look for a service you need during business hours? No problem! The internet and online shopping are available all day and night, every day. Shop for a product or a service provider at any time of the day.

Wider Selection: Have you ever taken the time to travel to your local store only to find they don’t have the item you need? I have and it’s frustrating when I could have easily found it online. Or have you looked on Google for a local coach, consultant, or accountant only to find a small number of people in your area to choose from? Instead, you could search for your next coach from thousands of coaches across the country or even the world. No need to be geographically bound to service providers.

That being said, because of the rise in the number of product and service-based online businesses, that makes the competition steep.

How this increase can negatively impact your online business and what to do about it

If I search for a product I need, I’ll get loads of options to choose from. If I’m looking for a career coach and search Google, I’ll end up with lots and lots of choices. This makes it hard for you to make sure you stand out and draw your people to you.

Here are some ways to stand out from the competition:

Your uniqueness: The simple fact is that not every coach is going to be the right one for me. And not every online shop will be one I want to do business with. Just because there are hundreds if not thousands of career coaches or online stores that sell a product or service I want, it doesn’t mean that I’d be comfortable working with every one of them. You’re unique. Let your light shine. Show your personality, values, and what you stand for to draw the people who will want to work with you and who you will enjoy working with.

Understand your customer: Who do you enjoy working with? What do they like? Where do they hang out? What values do they have? Take some time to really understand who you’re targeting. Taking this time will help you design your message to attract these people. They’ll read about your company or read your marketing materials and feel you’re speaking directly to them. How could they then not want to do business with you?

Offer a great experience: Are you using a clunky shopping interface? Does your customer have to jump through hoops to buy your product or service? Make it easy for them. Make sure your website is easy to use and has helpful information, that you tell the customer exactly how to work with you, that your products are displayed in an appealing way, and that the checkout process is smooth. Don’t have too many obstacles in the way that will give them an opportunity to change their mind and look elsewhere.

Find ways you’re different: And amplify that on your website. Why should the customer choose you over their competition? Is there a product you offer that stands out? Or a process you use when working with clients that makes you different than your competition? Try to tell potential customers and clients why you’re different and why the right choice is to work with you.

Find the right social media platform: There are several social media platforms to choose from. But my recommendation is to choose one to heavily focus on. Being consistent on one social media platform will help your potential customers get to know you and trust you. If you’re a B2B or you like to write rather than do loads of videos, then LinkedIn might be the platform for you. But if you’re showcasing photos of your products, you might look at Instagram where you can post photos of the products for your customers to see. The key is to give some thought to where your customers hang out and then go all in on that platform. Give it three to four months of consistent posting to see if it’s the right platform for you.

Know what your competitors are up to: Make sure you keep tabs on competitors. Check out their pricing to make sure your pricing is competitive. You don’t want to overcharge and have people abandon you for your competition. But you also don’t want to undercharge and negatively affect your bottom line.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is key to growing your online business. Invest in SEO whether that means learning how to optimize your search ranking or hiring out to someone who specializes in SEO.

And finally, it goes without saying that providing an exceptional customer experience whether you’re selling them products or your services is key to beating the competition. If a customer isn’t satisfied with your product or service, internet reviews have a large reach and will follow you. On the other hand, getting great testimonials from your customers will go a long way to show that you are thoughtful and provide products and services your customers need and can depend on.

Pro tip: Don’t forget to ask current customers to give you online reviews or testimonials. There are services you can use to collect testimonials without having to add yet another manual process to your business.

Conclusion

There’s a lot of competition these days in the online space. Does that mean you can’t grow your business online? No, there’s plenty of opportunity. With a little planning and thinking ahead, you can grow your business and become known in your space as an expert.

Let me know in the comments what you think. Do you feel there’s a lot of competition in your space? How do you differentiate yourself and your company?