None of us works in a vacuum. We all have competitors, some more than others. So what separates your business from your competition? What processes have you implemented to brand your business, get it noticed, become rememberable and drive profits?

Always versus Rarely
Cross industry, there are verticals that ALWAYS do business the same way, and there are those that stand out for RARELY doing business as usual. Now either can be good or bad, but separating yourself from the herd WILL get you noticed. I’ve been fortunate to be with a number of firms that didn’t just have satisfied customers, rather Raving Fans.

The perception of your industry
Have you ever just sat down and jotted what everyone else in your industry ALWAYS does? And what others RARELY do? What category does your business fall into? For example, let’s take the medical profession. What does your local physician ALWAYS do? I’d say, they ALWAYS take Wednesday’s off (don’t have a clue why!) and they ALWAYS overbook their appointments. On the RARELY side, I’d say they RARELY (your input). This is simply my perception of the industry.

Search Queries
When prospects key queries into Google and Bing, they have a preconceived notion of what to expect. With literally millions of results for almost any keyword phrase, studies have shown that you should be in the top 3 results, and at minimum on the first or second page. If you are there now, are the search queries that drove these prospects to your site revelant to the products and services you promote? If they are, how are you any different from the last 5 sites they just visited? Why would they buy from you, if they haven’t purchased from the last site they were on?

Understanding your market and industry
This goes back to the ALWAYS and RARELY. Some prospects want tried and true, while others want cutting edge, or even bleeding edge. Understanding your market and your industry is key. This plays directly to developing an industry niche. And that will be a topic for another day.

To your success
- Steve

Thanks for the tips. Turning concepts into reality isn't easy, but this helps.

Woah! Great tips! Definitely going to bookmark this.

Thanks for sharing these tips! It is indeed a great help!

Nice read! Thanks for the tips!