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How Do "You" Separate Yourself From The Competiton

by The Niche Man
58 replies
Whether you're new, a Guru or something in between, competition is a fact of business life. How do you personally separate yourself from the competition?

#competiton #separate
  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
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  • Profile picture of the author BudiT
    Hi The Niche Man

    Thanks for the question. I hope newbies would start asking this kind of questions a lot more.

    For me it's more about how you put yourself out there. In other words, positioning. At what level of buying readiness have you put yourself, and what do you do about that audience...

    You present yourself in front of them and provide the solution.

    A great marketer once told me... "You earn what you're worth."

    I think that's really true. If you can increase your personal value, people would start seeking you, as long as you do the work in properly positioning yourself. Then people will start seeking you as your value goes up.

    What are your thoughts about this?

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  • Profile picture of the author Jouvan Johnson
    Me personally,

    I try to make my personality come through via my marketing and copy.

    A lot of people sell the same information (there is only a limited number of ways to create a squeeze page) but people resonate with different personalities.

    So I try to really care about my audience and let them get to know the real me so they know, like and trust me
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Originally Posted by Jouvan Johnson View Post

      Me personally,

      I try to make my personality come through via my marketing and copy.

      A lot of people sell the same information (there is only a limited number of ways to create a squeeze page) but people resonate with different personalities.

      So I try to really care about my audience and let them get to know the real me so they know, like and trust me
      Couldn't have said it better myself.

      1. I use the same profile photo across all social media sites, forums and my own blog. I once had a visitor message me saying, 'You're everywhere!' I said, 'That's the point!'

      2. The same marketing processes can be explained in very different ways using your own words and your own experiences.

      3. Tutorial videos are useful too, and can be done differently from other marketers using different examples.

      There are a lot of ways to make sure that your personal brand is different from your competitors. You just have to know who YOU are and then just be yourself!
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      • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
        Originally Posted by BudiT View Post

        Hi The Niche Man

        Thanks for the question. I hope newbies would start asking this kind of questions a lot more.

        For me it's more about how you put yourself out there. In other words, positioning. At what level of buying readiness have you put yourself, and what do you do about that audience...

        You present yourself in front of them and provide the solution.

        A great marketer once told me... "You earn what you're worth."

        I think that's really true. If you can increase your personal value, people would start seeking you, as long as you do the work in properly positioning yourself. Then people will start seeking you as your value goes up.

        What are your thoughts about this?

        ~ Budi T
        Positioning is a powerful word you don't hear much in Internet Marketing conversations. But it's something I've been exploring deeply for the past 3 years for the purpose of doing a future membership site dedicated exclusivley to it.

        How you position yourself (or neglect doing it) can make the difference between success or failure. Most Internet marketers position themselves ineffectively or not at all. Result? They pay the penalty by spinning their
        wheels,going in circles or bouncing from one thing to the next.

        Here's a short but powerful video by one of my "she-roes" on simple ways to position yourself.


        Originally Posted by Jouvan Johnson View Post

        Me personally,

        I try to make my personality come through via my marketing and copy.

        A lot of people sell the same information (there is only a limited number of ways to create a squeeze page) but people resonate with different personalities.

        So I try to really care about my audience and let them get to know the real me so they know, like and trust me
        Good strategy, simply because each human has the gift of a unique personality (provided you know how to display it). Having the skill to display the unique qualities of your personality into your marketing and copy is a powerful combination, IMO.

        Originally Posted by AntonioSeegars1 View Post

        I simply don't worry about it. I market directly to people, and I use really longtail keywords that people search for to bring in organic traffic. I create a new audience just for what I'm promoting.
        Hmm. Is that your total strategy ( i.e Don't worry about it, use really longtail keywords) or just the part you choose to reveal?
        It would be interestng to know what market you're in and level of competition (heavy, average, light, little or none) , care to share? Your sig link is broke.
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  • Profile picture of the author salegurus
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  • Profile picture of the author andrewkar
    Me simply, by being the best provider in the niche.

    Since you are asking, I guess you have problems with that and you are not well prepared for this? (I might be wrong....)

    So it all starts with a competitor analysis. Normally you want to look for weak points in their strategy and especially in marketing execution.

    Once you have identified points of weakest resistance you group your majority forces at those points and exploit them to your advantage.

    Of course, there is more to it but your question is such a broad one that I can't give you more advice at this point. However, I think you do great
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      When you really think about it, the same marketing information is available to nearly everyone given the books, articles, internet sites, courses, etc that are out there.

      So here's a clue . . .

      Simply do the things that others in your niche are not willing to do.

      But you have to be smart about it because often doing things that don't help your business (or could even hurt it) are not what I'm suggesting.

      Do the right things, the proven things the work, the smart things that others won't do because it takes work, effort, research, and time.

      Some of these things that I've noticed that business owners are reluctant to do are market research, developing a workable plan, testing and tracking results, giving excellent customer care and support, developing new products, keeping site content updated . . . well you get the point . . . there are tons of things!

      The best to all of you,

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author kk075
        Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

        Simply do the things that others in your niche are not willing to do.
        That's home run advice right that and exactly what I was going to say as well. To stand out, you have to focus on the little things that customers look for when searching for an honest business partner...and that could be dozens of things from your approach to how to handle problems to your ability to fix things on the fly. So it's going that extra mile and doing things that makes you appear instantly different from the competition...that's my approach to it anyway.

        Then again, I also call out my competitors frequently for doing things the wrong way, which isn't always smart but that's just who I am.
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        • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
          Originally Posted by kk075 View Post

          Then again, I also call out my competitors frequently for doing things the wrong way, which isn't always smart but that's just who I am.
          Wow, that's a dangerous tactic that could back-fire 20 different ways - Against You if you're not careful.
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          • Profile picture of the author kk075
            Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

            Wow, that's a dangerous tactic that could back-fire 20 different ways - Against You if you're not careful.
            Yup, and sometimes it does...but if I'm doing things that my competitors aren't that will benefit the consumer, then I don't know how else to say it.
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            • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
              Originally Posted by kk075 View Post

              Yup, and sometimes it does...but if I'm doing things that my competitors aren't that will benefit the consumer, then I don't know how else to say it.
              That's an interesting concept. But how can calling out your competition, benefit the consumer (Post #33)? Just asking to learn, I may be looking over something I can use. Thanks for sharing.
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              • Profile picture of the author kk075
                Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

                That's an interesting concept. But how can calling out your competition, benefit the consumer (Post #33)? Just asking to learn, I may be looking over something I can use. Thanks for sharing.
                To make a long story short, I personally do everything when it comes to online marketing/SEO for local clients. People looking for those services in this area turn to web builders though, and none of them here do any real on-page or off-page optimization other than tweaking the back-end. So my unique selling point is that I can take the client a lot further than the average web builder.

                Now, there's not really a way for me to tell potential clients that without saying, "Hey, my competitors do A and B, while I do A, B, C, D, E and F at a competitive price." So the customer's benefit is that they get an experienced online marketer instead of just a web builder. Most don't know what that even means though, so the only option I can see is keep pumping out the knowledge to show how I'm different. I think that's really the goal of any business though; to establish a unique value proposition and deliver excellent service.

                Sorry I saw your reply late...I hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisNosal
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    Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

    Whether you're new, a Guru or something in between, competion is a fact of business life. How do you personally separate yourself from the competiton?
    Be a master of everything you do. Most marketers offer mostly hype and pitch products - all this stuff about "understanding benefits then offering customers products" or "analyze competitors" or "keyword research", the problem is everyone is doing that - I'm assuming you don't want to just look like everyone else, and want an "edge".

    Speaking from personal experience, if you become such a master at your art, in my case copywriting, and get to the point where you're so advanced you invent your own techniques, and can offer products at a level no one else can, to the point where your information is so good the free stuff you offer becomes your marketing & promotes how good you are for you, then you immediately stand out.

    Also, if you step outside your niche. For example, most marketers don't know crap about design, so I studied Apple's Interface Design Guidelines which are free on their website to learn how to design an intuitive, simple, easy-to-use user experience.

    Then, learn how to write - not pitch products, but actually how to write like an writer, and how to communicate ideas effectively and completely.

    When you do this, others will see how incredible your content is, spread the word, seek you out to build relationships, give you high PR backlinks, promote you to their lists, and your business will snowball and take off.

    The key to standing out is: follow your passion, just focus on being the best at what you do, make no compromises on quality, and your business will spread and grow, and the sales will happen on their own.
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    • Profile picture of the author BigFrank
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      Originally Posted by ChrisNosal View Post

      Then, learn how to write - not pitch products, but actually how to write like a writer, and how to communicate ideas effectively and completely.
      There ya' go. This 'non-writer' fixed that for you. :-)

      Cheers. - Frank
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      • Profile picture of the author agmccall
        Simple, I do not pay attention to them or worry about what they are doing. I focus on my own business. It makes things so much easier

        al
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        • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
          Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

          Simple, I do not pay attention to them or worry about what they are doing. I focus on my own business. It makes things so much easier

          al
          Exactly. It's one thing to be curious about what other marketers are doing or saying. It's quite another to just be yourself and share your own experiences.

          People will get to know, like and trust you for YOU, not because you're trying to outdo other marketers.
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      • Profile picture of the author ChrisNosal
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        Originally Posted by BigFrank View Post

        There ya' go. This 'non-writer' fixed that for you. :-)

        Cheers. - Frank
        I offered value, while you offered none. While you're right, and I was so focused on answering his question I missed a semantic oversight, you don't seem to care about helping people, show no focus on that, only criticizing others for offering their input.

        Why do you choose to not focus on helping the poster of this question, instead of focusing on bashing someone else? Or, at the very least, do both, so someone benefits in some way from your post.

        Thank you for taking the time to read my post though. I appreciate that you cared enough to.

        I'm glad you noticed this though, it helps me grow.

        Aside from semantics, can you tell me what you personally disagree with in what I said, so I can learn more from you? And explain other ways I can improve my work, so I can do even better to help others?

        Thanks in advance!
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        • Profile picture of the author BigFrank
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          Originally Posted by ChrisNosal View Post

          I offered value, while you offered none. While you're right, and I was so focused on answering his question I missed a semantic oversight, you don't seem to care about helping people, show no focus on that, only criticizing others for offering their input.

          Why do you choose to not focus on helping the poster of this question, instead of focusing on bashing someone else? Or, at the very least, do both, so someone benefits in some way from your post.

          Thank you for taking the time to read my post though. I appreciate that you cared enough to.

          I'm glad you noticed this though, it helps me grow.

          Aside from semantics, can you tell me what you personally disagree with in what I said, so I can learn more from you? And explain other ways I can improve my work, so I can do even better to help others?

          Thanks in advance!
          I didn't disagree with anything you said. I was highlighting the fact, in what was meant to be a humorous fashion, that you bill yourself as a copywriter, yet made a error in your copy.

          As far as 'value' goes - it, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

          If nothing else, I am glad that I was able to help you grow. My work here, is completed.

          Enjoy the rest of your day.

          Cheers. - Frank

          P.S. Lighten up. You are solidifying the belief that 'copywriters,' for the most part, are completely devoid of any semblance of a sense of humor.
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  • Profile picture of the author ZanyZebra
    By understanding what benefits potential customers receive from my profit. Then, picking one or two that i am stronger than my competitors (and is of real value to a customer), highlighting it.

    The trick is positioning yourself in the mindset of potential customers, in a way that shows your benefits off to greater effect.
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  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

    Whether you're new, a Guru or something in between, competion is a fact of business life.
    Not necessarily - it depends on your business. If you're a writer, an information marketer, or someone who creates for a living, you don't have any competition. You don't lose if someone else gains, and you don't gain as a result of someone else losing.

    As Chris Guillebeau puts it: "If your business (or your job, or whatever it is you do every day) is built on taking something from somebody else, I don’t envy you. If you asked me, I’d say you’re in the wrong business. You might as well go out and repossess cars or work for a collection agency".

    Businesses that deal in commodities will be forever competing with similar businesses on price, service, convenience or other easily copied criteria. If what you offer is unique to you, there won't be any need to concern yourself with competition. You'll be building - and serving - your own market.


    Frank
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    • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
      to expand a bit on what Frank posted above, I think the word "competition" has a scarcity connotation to it.Because I believe in an abundant universe, and that I'm a creator of my own reality, competition doesn't even concern me one bit. I believe there is enough business for everyone. I really do.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
      Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

      Not necessarily - it depends on your business. If you're a writer, an information marketer, or someone who creates for a living, you don't have any competition. You don't lose if someone else gains, and you don't gain as a result of someone else losing
      Frank
      Not sure about that one Frank at least for most of us mere mortals, sounds good in theory. But maybe we both have different definitions of competition. Mine is if a customer has $10 to spend on a marketing book and we both write them - you're my competition.

      It doesn't have to be adversarial, we may both get inspiration or even learn from each other (healthy competiton). But it's competition all the same by definition. We're competing for the same target market dollar.

      And if you want to stretch it further any other product or service can also be our indirect competition, because we're all competing for spending priority of people in our target market. The further up the food chain we can get the better chance we have.

      Sure, I can say my product or service has no competition, because it's so unique. But in most instances,if you have any success you'll soon have competition faster than you can say copycats. But if you're saying I have no competition, because I'm so superior to others that could be true. But for most of us, it's a game of inches.

      Originally Posted by Karen Blundell View Post

      to expand a bit on what Frank posted above, I think the word "competition" has a scarcity connotation to it.Because I believe in an abundant universe, and that I'm a creator of my own reality, competition doesn't even concern me one bit. I believe there is enough business for everyone. I really do.
      Karen, I agree with your philosophy as far as being in an abundant universe, being a creator of your own reality, and there being enough business for everyone. I think the trick for most is getting the abundant business to come to you as opposed to others who sell the same or similar products or services.
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      • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
        Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

        Not sure about that one Frank at least for most of us mere mortals, sounds good in theory. But maybe we both have different definitions of competition. Mine is if a customer has $10 to spend on a marketing book and we both write them - you're my competition.
        Roy, you're picturing an invented scenario. There's really no such animal as a customer with $10 to spend on a marketing book. That would only be the case if a) Everyone knew exactly what they were going to spend their money on all the time, and b) There was a finite amount of money in the world.

        In reality, people spend their money, outside of a few basic essentials, for completely emotional, often irrational reasons, and they usually don't start out with any preconceived ideas about where they're going to spend it.

        And wealth is not some fixed sum that has to be sliced up and shared out amongst the population - it's constantly being created. Where did people intend to spend the money they gave to, say, J.K. Rowling for all those books and merchandise before she came up with Harry Potter? Whose money did E.L. James steal to amass her fortune from the 50 Shades franchise? There was no customer waiting around with $10 to spend on a cumbersomely-written semi-erotic book.

        If you think of what you do as merely supplying a commodity, anybody will be able to enter your market and undercut you on price, give better service or offer a wider range. But as an information marketer, you're in a perfect position not only to create a distinct product, but to actually create your own market - one in which you don't have to take from another writer or marketer in order to be successful.

        This "game of inches" as you call it, is only being played out in your mind.


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    • Profile picture of the author lord diamond
      Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

      Not necessarily - it depends on your business. If you're a writer, an information marketer, or someone who creates for a living, you don't have any competition. You don't lose if someone else gains, and you don't gain as a result of someone else losing.

      As Chris Guillebeau puts it: "If your business (or your job, or whatever it is you do every day) is built on taking something from somebody else, I don’t envy you. If you asked me, I’d say you’re in the wrong business. You might as well go out and repossess cars or work for a collection agency".

      Businesses that deal in commodities will be forever competing with similar businesses on price, service, convenience or other easily copied criteria. If what you offer is unique to you, there won't be any need to concern yourself with competition. You'll be building - and serving - your own market.


      Frank
      This idea about there being no competition is absolutely true. It sounds mystic almost, but think about it and think about all the different places you can advertise your content and products besides just Google. There's thousands of other places like Google where people hand out and examine / read things. Take these examples: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Stack Exchange, DeviantArt, BuzzFeed, any blogs in your niche, local directory listings, etc. If you go to a place where you can actually be seen and do something interesting that hasn't been saturated as of late, then people will stop and take a look.

      Everyone's wondering where the next Google's at, I think its in all these social media sites that are cropping up everywhere. I even think that some of the authority top 10's in the SERP are like a search engine in themselves in that you can find links to other related sites from them and you can even plant links to yours in them.

      We're at 7.5 billion on Earth and the number is expanding rapidly, so is the internet, and I am 100% sure that if you just do something great and advertise it in the right places and make it link worthy, that it will spread quick enough. Even if there are 2 billion + people with an internet connection, and some of whom are your direct "competition".
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      Actually, no matter what your business is, you always have competition.

      You are competing for their money. They have a finite amount.

      You could be competing any of the following ways:
      you or another marketer (or whatever it is you do) who sells the same thing as you at a better price or a different package

      you or another marketer (or whatever it is you do) who sells something you don't (you sell SEO and pay per click, they sell blogging and facebook, for instance)

      you and an activity or product that has nothing to do with you (i.e., you sell marketing and the owner of the company wonders whether to buy your marketing product or take her kids to Universal Studios for a week next month).

      You always have competition. The best you can hope is to position yourself in such a manner that you don't have competition from someone in your field.

      Someone going to a store for bagels... The bagels compete with other bagels, other food items, the weight loss industry, other non-food items. (If I skip the bagels, I can buy organic milk, not regular... If I skip the bagels, I can buy ice cream... If I skip the bagels, I'll fit into my skinny jeans inside the month.... I can go to the beach in my bikini this summer....)

      A lot of the competition might not seem like competition.... is not direct competition.... But you're always in competition for their attention or their money. If you lose their attention, you lost their money. And, of course, if you lose their money, you lose their money.

      I have $2700 coming it. It's not in my account but I'm getting it. And it's already spoken for. It's not written in stone... Some of the things, I can change... But, the marketer who's going to call me tomorrow has a better chance at getting some of it then the one who calls me on Monday (all other things being equal) because on Monday, the money will be in my account and I'll feel a lot stronger about spending it the way I'm dreaming of spending it right now.

      But the marketer who's going to call me tomorrow is competing with the guys who sell office furniture (I'd like me a more comfortable chair and, I swear, if I get a more comfortable chair I'll be more productive, so it's an awesome buy as long as it's not over $300), a program that will let me make cartoon videos (I could learn how to do them, combine that with me persuasive way of writing/creating dialog and sell videos as part of my SEO packages), the guy in India who does my whiteboard videos (I've been thinking of getting a dozen of them to promote my company), taking my wife to see a play (haven't been to one in a while) at least a movie; buying some clothes; buying a ukulele for someone I care about...

      Saving some of that money for a rainy day ain't a bad idea, either.

      You get the point, don't you.


      Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

      Not necessarily - it depends on your business. If you're a writer, an information marketer, or someone who creates for a living, you don't have any competition. You don't lose if someone else gains, and you don't gain as a result of someone else losing.

      As Chris Guillebeau puts it: "If your business (or your job, or whatever it is you do every day) is built on taking something from somebody else, I don't envy you. If you asked me, I'd say you're in the wrong business. You might as well go out and repossess cars or work for a collection agency".

      Businesses that deal in commodities will be forever competing with similar businesses on price, service, convenience or other easily copied criteria. If what you offer is unique to you, there won't be any need to concern yourself with competition. You'll be building - and serving - your own market.


      Frank
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      • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
        Originally Posted by DABK View Post

        You get the point, don't you.
        If you're making a point on behalf of bagel sellers, then yes, I get it. But I wasn't talking about commodities. If you want to sell widgets that the world and his dog can copy and undersell you on, then knock yourself out.

        Most marketers on this forum deal in intangible products, not basic essentials - and these generally aren't items for which people set aside an exact portion of their disposable income. We surely all accept that most purchase decisions are triggered by an emotional response - that means it's the role of marketers to encourage actions that were not premeditated in the minds of their prospects.

        In short, people don't know what they're going to spend their money on until you tell them.

        Only when you commoditize your business, does it become a matter of simply shifting a sale of $x from one supplier to an alternative. I'd rather create my own market.

        And yes, we can talk about competition for attention, but that's moving into the realms of the metaphysical, and is probably outside the scope of this discussion.


        Frank
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        • Profile picture of the author DABK
          No, not making a point on behalf of bagels sellers.

          If you created your own market, you differentiated yourself, you separated yourself from your competition.

          And the question was, How do you separate yourself from the competition?

          I think everyone's goal is to differentiate themselves from their competitors so much as to completely separate themselves, in their target audience's mind, from all of their competitors, like you said you did, like Cirque du Soleil did, like Starbucks was when it first started.

          If you want to take the discussion deeper, you'd go into how you created your own market. But, the way I see it, you did differentiate yourself, you just didn't do it a bit, you did it a lot.



          Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

          If you're making a point on behalf of bagel sellers,

          I'd rather create my own market.


          Frank
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          • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
            Originally Posted by DABK View Post

            And the question was, How do you separate yourself from the competition?
            Yes, if you're using the term "competition" in the broadest possible (almost abstract) sense, but that isn't the overriding theme of this thread with its talk of business being "a game of inches", for example. Making yourself a participant in some kind of competitive war of attrition is a choice - I don't believe it's compulsory.

            Originally Posted by DABK View Post

            If you created your own market, you differentiated yourself, you separated yourself from your competition.
            I get what you're saying, although I'd maintain that "differentiating from" isn't quite the same thing as"considering as irrelevant".


            Frank
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          • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
            Originally Posted by DABK View Post

            If you created your own market, you differentiated yourself, you separated yourself from your competition.

            ... like Cirque du Soleil did, like Starbucks was when it first started.
            Bingo. I have found, in my own personal journey, that I do not do as well when I try to compete in crowded marketplaces.

            But when I have created something that didn't exist (or barely existed) and created a bold, new take on it, I have had my greatest successes.

            Don't sell bagels unless you have a unique vision on the next great bagel. You'll never outdo Lenders selling something that looks and tastes like Lenders.

            Cirque and Starbucks took old, stale ideas (circuses and coffee) and created bold, new and exciting visions of what they should be like.

            Fifteen years ago, I quit a perfectly good marketing job I had held for the previous 12 years (in the movie theatre industry). I decided instead that I was going to be the next great web designer. I made enough to feed myself for the next year, but not much more. Then I had my epiphany... I knew the movie industry intimately, and realized I could leverage that experience to create a remarkably unique internet marketing boutique that solved a problem for that industry.

            I fired my non-movie theatre clients and focused on building my business to cater exclusively to theatres. And guess what? When theatre owners learned there was a web designer that spoke their language, they responded to my marketing and sought me out.

            There is so much more to that story, but the point is that I took something that was mundane and becoming a commodity (web design) and made it unique with my experience and my voice. And it was only then that it became something remarkable.

            I have carried that lesson with me into several new ventures since, and it is always relevant.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rory Singh
    Competition is always going to be there on this planet regardless of the industry.

    What has worked for me was not to try an compete with other marketers. Other marketers have other strengths and talents that I don't have. I instead focus on my own talents, strengths and personal experiences that I can share with my own audience.

    I 'market' to people who resonate with my style, personality and story.

    Other people can utilize their 'own' personalities, strengths and experiences.

    So basically I am saying that I don't try to market to EVERYONE.

    I heard a 7 Figure Marketer by the name of Aaron Rashkin say...



    "If you are Marketing to Everyone, You are marketing to NO ONE".
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Consistency+reliability+honestly+fair pricing+quality+personality+openness = me and what I can give my clients. I have one who has been my client since day 1! That speaks volumes in my book.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Niche Man, If I was offered $10 and you were too, you could have the job. I don't work for that low a rate. So, no, you wouldn't be my competition in that job.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel_James_Warburton
    Learn to create a BRAND. If you :

    1.) Create a Powerful enough Brand
    2.) Learn to Close Sales
    3.) Become Brilliant at Follow-Ups

    You will become a great success on-line. Branding yourself and your Company is everything!

    I did a Blog Post a while ago on the subject of branding using social media and blogs. I am not collecting email addresses and I have nothing to sell on this blog. So feel free to have a read if needed! http://www.danieljameswarburton.com/...-building.html
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  • Profile picture of the author a2hosting
    I think it all starts off with a marketing 101 SWOT analysis. Take a look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and go from there.
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  • Profile picture of the author Karlb
    Easy... provide the best content.
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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      I let my personality thru Writing and sometimes even video come out and stand apart.

      I really take pride in being very personable and very engaging to my prospects and customers.

      I enjoy telling stories that people really embrace and can relate too.

      Being a good communicator will go a long way in staying ahead of the crowd.




      - Robert Andrew
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      • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
        Originally Posted by discrat View Post

        I let my personality thru Writing and sometimes even video come out and stand apart.

        I really take pride in being very personable and very engaging to my prospects and customers.

        I enjoy telling stories that people really embrace and can relate too.

        Being a good communicator will go a long way in staying ahead of the crowd.




        - Robert Andrew
        Yes, the ability to create a dynamic voice and add personality to your writing is a rare talent or skill. More people now write in text speak, abbreviated words and sentences or use emoticons than ever before.

        So, the people who can add personality in their writing with real words, punctuation, rhythm, tone and stories will stand out even more in a growing crowd of lazy or robotic writers.
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  • Profile picture of the author JenniferGiacoppo
    You separate yourself from the competition by recognizing there is none. When you look at what you can bring to the table in life then you will succeed. Sometimes it helps to see what others are doing and do different, but doing it because you have that to offer , not to be competitive otherwise it becomes a game that you constantly have to keep rising above. However, if you look at it like a game and have fun doing it , success can be yours as well. Look at what you have to offer and look less at others. Focus on your strongpoints, focus your energy to your direction and be consistent. You will come to realise there is enough room for everyone and what someone else does will not bother you unless it becomes healthy competition.
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    "Attitude is everything. Your mind-set is your attitude. It is the difference between success and the lack of it!"http://www.jennifergiacoppo.com

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    • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
      Originally Posted by JenniferGiacoppo View Post

      You separate yourself from the competition by recognizing there is none.
      Interesting viewpoint. Maybe you should inform the following companies, they have it all wrong.

      Coke and Pepsi.
      Mercedes Benz and BMW
      Ford and G.M
      Apple and Microsoft
      Costco and Sams Club
      Ferrari and Lamborghini
      Rolls Royce and Bentley
      Nike and Reebok
      Visa and Mastercard
      Walmart and Target
      J.P Morgan and Goldman Sach's

      I have more , but that should keep you busy for awhile.
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  • Profile picture of the author margretk
    As a customer, I think of what I really, really want, do a search, and then when I join an email list, I expect to get emails that I have been promised.

    The salesperson has to be authentic. Especially online.

    I think one of the best qualities is to never give up and to be yourself. Give real life stories, etc. Treat a customer as royalty.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris30K
    I focus purely on consistent continuous improvement. Nobody can beat you if you're more consistent
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    Chic Fil A > McDonald's

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  • Profile picture of the author extrememan
    Cool video. I read Purple Cow from Seth Godin. Awesome book about being unique and standing out from the crowd. Everyone is fighting for customers if you believe it or not.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Fuentes
      Brands can have their own character that's larger than life ...
      This goes beyond personality ...

      Character is something that people normally value more than personality ...
      And, they usually remember someone's character far better than the person's personality ...
      https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201104/personality-vs-character

      For example -- Personality = Funny. Character = Joe Pesci ...

      Personality can be represented by different larger than life characters ...
      At the end of the day though, personality is forgotten, and character takes it's place inside our heads ...

      Each of my closest friends has their own character ...
      Their character is constantly being built and changed, in my mind, by my day to day dealings with them ...
      However, if their character does change, then unlike their personality ...
      -- I don't seem to associate someone's character with any other person's personality, nor with any other person's character ...

      So, unlike someone's personality, which can be closely similar to that of others --
      -- Someone's character is unique to that person ...
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  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    Blowing your competition away comes down to knowing your target market better than anyone else. Your ability to effectively market is directly linked to how well you are able to tap into the psyche of your market.

    That involves many steps:

    - Knowing where to find them
    - Understanding what emotional triggers, images, visualizations, drive your customer to want what you offer
    - Knowing what frustrations and challenges they have with other products/services that haven't yet given them everything they want
    - Putting a "value" on a solution that finally DOES give them what they want - then targeting that through your marketing
    - Developing or finding a product that you can verify works...in other words, in the market we operate in we primarily sell information products, courses, training - we make sure that the program we create is not just informational but usable/consumable so that after doing X, we can see it produced Y result. When you can prove progress, align it with the points above you will not only differentiate from your competition - you will blow them away

    Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author exhibia
    Amen to that. I have beaten all competition in my field.

    [QUOTE=The Niche Man;9982483]Whether you're new, a Guru or something in between, competition is a fact of business life. How do you personally separate yourself from the competition?
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  • Profile picture of the author YourBizAid
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    My belief is that the easiest way to separate oneself from his competition is by creating more excellent value than the competition. If you can create excellent value in your marketplace and make your customers see this, you will surely rise above your competition.

    Just like Brian said, don't fail to study and research your competition. They could teach you stuff you don't know about your market. By all means, learn what they can teach you and build on it or create something better.

    By focusing on meeting your customers needs and creating excellent value for less, you will stand out from the crowd.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
      Originally Posted by YourBizAid View Post


      Just like Brian said, don't fail to study and research your competition. They could teach you stuff you don't know about your market. By all means, learn what they can teach you and build on it or create something better.

      .
      Good point. That's why I scratch my head at the people who say they don't look at their competition, don't think about their competition, or ignore their competition.

      Your competition can sometimes be one of your best teachers, motivators or educators on what and what not to do!
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  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    Competition? What competition? There's no competition in this life. Just do it. Just enjoy it. And move on with the new or next one. I think that's only an obstacle. If you really know what I mean. Cheers.
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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      Originally Posted by superowid View Post

      Competition? What competition? There's no competition in this life. Just do it. Just enjoy it. And move on with the new or next one. I think that's only an obstacle. If you really know what I mean. Cheers.
      In all dues respect, you might take a look at what Roy just said in thread #51

      To ignore your competition in some instances is pure folly


      - Robert Andrew
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      Nothing to see here including a Sig so just move on :)

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    • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
      Originally Posted by superowid View Post

      Competition? What competition? There's no competition in this life. Just do it. Just enjoy it. And move on with the new or next one. I understand your point in general theory and principle. It's an idealistic way to view life. No problem


      I think that's only an obstacle. If you really know what I mean. Cheers.
      I know what you mean, but competition doesn't have to be viewed as an obstacle. It can also be viewed as a challenge to get better. Which one a person chooses is a personal choice. For example, most champions of industry, sports and entertainment usually see competition as a motivation to get better or stay "A-Game" sharp. Like the people in the videos below.



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  • Profile picture of the author liquid ice
    Be unique by presenting your information in your own way, you are unique, there's only on you... Competition is everywhere, you can't reinvent the wheel because everything is already been presented/invented in your niche, so it's best to improve on what your competitors are doing. "improving" not stealing their work.

    Just my 2cents
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  • Profile picture of the author ophy
    My answer will not be very different than many here,
    I let my personality shine on my social media accounts
    I am myself, I have noticed what people like to read, and what they react to,
    so I go that way.
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  • Profile picture of the author karlstech
    I try to differentiate myself from the general population of online marketers in my market by giving people a different take on the topic of my blog.

    I also offer them real-world examples on businesses and situations that can be applied to the topic. And a personal touch as well of course.

    I try to mix story-telling with some hard facts and statistics.

    This has received positive feedback from almost everyone so far, and it's only 3 weeks old! I must be doing something right, right?

    I'm not an expert at what I do, I'm just really devoted and willing to do the necessary research and observations to give people the best possible information!

    Karl
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    • Profile picture of the author stavroscanlon128
      Every morning during my drive to work, I remind myself that I'm highly favored, greatly blessed and deeply loved by God.

      Then for the remainder of my day as I go about my tasks, I rest knowing that the big guy upstairs is taking care of things for me
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      • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
        Originally Posted by stavroscanlon128 View Post

        Every morning during my drive to work, I remind myself that I'm highly favored, greatly blessed and deeply loved by God.

        Then for the remainder of my day as I go about my tasks, I rest knowing that the big guy upstairs is taking care of things for me
        I agree with your method, faith works. But just remember "faith without works is dead"James 2:26.[/QUOTE]

        Originally Posted by vour1995 View Post

        This is really informaive.
        I know I've learned a lot. Good insights from everyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author vour1995
    This is really informaive.
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