Top tips to stay ahead of your competition

We all know the saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Well, here's a slightly amended version that hits the nail on the head about how you should be marketing your business:

Keep your customers close and your competitors closer

Now, first off, there's no reason to see your competitors as enemies, as such. In fact, there's often a lot you can learn from the competition. In most markets - generally - there's enough room for them and you to co-exist and compete perfectly amicably next to one another.

And you should never fear the competition. Every business needs to be confident in its own skin. You need to be self-assured about what you do and the value you add for your customers. Concentrating on doing what you do - and doing it well - is always good advice.

Indeed, the 'we need to focus on our own game' mantra - albeit straight out of the football managers' textbook - does makes a lot of sense.

Only, you also need to know what you are up against. If you're about to come up against a Lionel Messi, you really, really need to come up with a plan beforehand.

How to get ahead of the competition... and stay ahead

When you start a business it can sometimes feel that you will never even be on a level playing field with your competitors. Getting ahead of the competition is no mean feat: staying ahead is harder still.

Here are some top tips on how to do it.

1. Spy on the competition and the thought leaders in your industry

Okay, we're not talking James Bond here. I'm not advocating bugging your rival's offices or investing in state-of-the-art surveillance equipment; but you do need to know everything they (and anybody worth their salt in your sector) are up to.

In life, there are those that lead and those that follow. There are shepherds and there are sheep. Seeing what other people are up to and simply copying what you see is no good, obviously. But you don't have the monopoly on great ideas, do you?

Turn a browse online into a reconnaissance mission. When you see a good idea, think: Would that work for us? How can we improve it? What are the next logical steps from here?

2. Be consistent

All marketing needs a strategy. All strategies evolve and change over time. Mixing things up and trying something different every now again works really. Doing the same thing all the time for months on end will soon get boring and your audience are likely to lose interest. Your audience wants you to be dependable - not predictable.

Worse still, is when businesses start something and lose interest themselves. Consistency is vital. If you decide to post your blog on Fridays, make sure you do this every Friday - without fail. A blog that only appears once in a blue moon is neither use nor ornament.

Similarly, social media accounts that have a flurry of activity for a couple of weeks and then lie dormant for months can actually do more harm than good for your marketing efforts.

3. Be committed and creative

Content marketing takes commitment and patience. It doesn't make any sense to try and compare the ROI of a typical business blog with paid advertising. One plays the long game, the other is about quick wins. One is about building trust, the other is about making sales.

Social media can be a real slow-burner too. It takes time to get results and sometimes businesses pull the plug on their social media efforts or blogging in the mistaken belief that 'it's not working'. In truth, it probably is working/will work - it just needs to be given more time.

In the end, playing the long game and being seen as a brand that people trust will see you reaping the benefits.

You do that, and you stay ahead of the competition, by producing great content and by being consistent, committed and creative in everything you do with your marketing.

If you want to get ahead, get in touch to find out more about how to do it.

#contentmarketing #blogging #socialmedia