5 Ways Your Startup Can Beat the Competition in an Oversaturated Market

Many startups find themselves struggling to stay afloat because of insufficient funding or poor organization. Others are choked by the competition, particularly they’re new in an oversaturated industry.

Startups shouldn’t be discouraged from starting in a busy field. Instead, they should grasp the importance of competing for the top spot. Of course, brand-new, small businesses won’t get far if they don’t employ serious strategies for gaining on the competition. Here are five strategies you can use to help your startup get ahead of the competition:

1. Carefully monitor competitors’ actions

You can’t get ahead of the competition if you don’t know what they’re up to. Fortunately, monitoring the competition and their actions is fairly easy.

Everything is online nowadays, and you can readily visit competitor websites, storefronts, and social media sites to see what initiatives they’re pursuing. As they make moves to promote their business, you can learn from both their successes and their failures while you’re working on your own product development and marketing strategies.

2. Use all the resources available

Startups have an incredible wealth of resources available to them, but they’re only beneficial if they’re utilized. Here are some tools that will help you gain ground over other companies in your industry:

  • ADP: This payroll service has helped more than 25,000 Canadian small businesses make their payroll and tax processes more efficient.

  • AdRoll: This advertising tool offers cross-platform retargeting and prospecting to spread the news about your business for a low price.

  • Cyfe: This platform lets you create all-in-one dashboards to monitor both your online presence and that of your competitors.

  • Watson Analytics: This predictive analytics and data visualization software hands the power of Big Data to small businesses.

  • GetResponse: This is an email-marketing platform that helps you track and monitor the success of your emails.

These are just five of the many tools available to take your business to a higher level. With efficiency and productivity tools like these, startups can compete with companies twice their size.

3. Challenge assumptions

Forget what you think you know. Sometimes you operate under assumptions about other businesses and their processes that make it difficult for you to gain an advantage.

Focus on data that comes in real time. Things could change in an instant for your competitors, and you need to be fairly certain you’re ready to handle the shifts when they occur.

4. Stick with professional designs

It’s true that a good product can “sell itself,” but more often, it needs a little push to make it more visual. Thus, the image of your company may be nearly as critical as the actual products and services.

Go with professional designs to ensure your brand will stand out and have the impact you’re hoping for. Everything  from your logo to your site design and product packaging should be set up to attract appropriate attention and boost brand imprinting.

Don’t underestimate the power of professional designs when it comes to beating your competitors.

5. Put your efforts into sales

It’s easy to get so caught up in product production, business plans, and marketing theories that you forget about the power of the raw sales pitch. If you don’t have experience selling something, try to get some.

Focus on moving the product through sales pitches that demonstrate value to the reader. Once you’ve developed a solid sales strategy, your clientele will grow. Smart marketing tactics and excellent products will take care of the rest.

What tactics will you use to grow your business and get ahead of the competition?