A bit of healthy competition never hurt anyone. It can make you the preferred choice over your competitors and it keeps a business on its toes about how to improve quality and efficiency. However, you can’t always be ahead of the pack as competitors are also always working to maintain a competitive advantage. Still, a business owner or manager must never become complacent about the competition. The right strategy that capitalizes on the shortcomings of competitors can make a business stand out and create an opportunity for it to throw off the competition by a long mile.
In coming up with a strategy, it is important to consider the findings of studies done on consumer behavior. A state of marketing study carried out in 2014 established that 46% of marketers believe that social media marketing campaigns are essential for their business. Interestingly and in contrast, the same percentage of consumers reports that most brands do not provide useful information about their products on their social media platforms. This was reported n a 2014 Mobile Behavior Report.
Studies have also been carried out on content that was most effective in prompting a response from consumers. A 2014 Twitter Social Engagement Benchmark Report showed that Tweets that had a photo got 128% more replies and re-tweets compared to those that had no photo. It is a strategy that brands and companies use just 8% of the time.
Another strategy that was found to be giving significant competitive advantage and that is used by 63% of the companies that are outpacing their competition is marketing automation. This is according to a 2013 Lead Generation Marketing Effectiveness Study. However, according to MarketingProfs it is a strategy that is being used by only 37% of B2B marketers to generate leads.
Targeted personalization gives competitive advantage by increasing customer engagement. A The Realities of Online Personalization Report showed that it worked for 74% of the companies who used the strategy but is used by just 41% of marketers. BtoB Magazine reported that 59% of marketers don’t customize when generating leads.
The way shopping carts are handled on shopping sites is also important. A Predictive Intelligence Benchmark Report showed that abandoned carts generate 60% of revenue on the day a report was sent to the shopper. The 2014 State of Marketing report showed that just 15% of marketers reach out to shoppers who abandon their carts.
