On this week’s SUCCESS Line, I speak with Maria. Maria left her position as a project manager two years ago to pursue her ambition of creating her own company, a move she made after reading SUCCESS magazine.
Maria called in with two questions that I’m sure most business owners reading this have faced:
When there are so many cheaper alternatives, how can I attract more people to my business?
What should my sales-growth plan be now that my competitors have a lot more money to invest?
These are some of the most often asked questions by small businesses competing with large supply chain actors. They, on the other hand, are fixated on the incorrect issue: cost. Read on for my top three tips for succeeding as a mission-based firm if you want to break away from the price trap. I promise that once you make the decision to stop competing solely on price, your world (and your business) will open up.
Related: How Working Remotely?
1) Make Sure You’re On the Same Page With Your Purpose.
Competition based solely on price or cost is doomed to fail. People will always be willing to go out of business faster than you are, which means they will always be willing to slash the price even lower to beat you out.
So, since we know that’s not a long-term battle, how do you set yourself apart? Where can you put them to the test?
In the core of everything. The enthusiasm, devotion, and belief that a small business can make a difference in the world are the strengths of a small business. Companies that compete on pricing are only concerned with their bottom line; they lack the same compassion.
If we can’t beat them on pricing, we’ll have to focus on our vision, passion, and purpose on a far larger scale.
Take, for example, TOMS. They aren’t the cheapest shoes, and I don’t particularly like how they appear. People, on the other hand, buy TOMS shoes for a reason: the brand distributes a third of its profits to causes and missions that they care about. People purchase the goods not because it is the cheapest, but because they believe in the company’s objective.
You must gain complete clarity on who your firm is and what you are attempting to achieve. People are always eager to pay more for something if they believe in it, thus your heart is your golden ticket.
Related: 7 Tips for Making Your Business Pop (Brand Storytelling Guide)
2) Find Your Tribe.
Once you’ve defined your purpose, you’ll need to find consumers who share your enthusiasm for the same cause—you’ll need to find your tribe. Who is my ideal customer, you might wonder? What do they do with their spare time? I’m not sure how I’d get in touch with them. What do they purchase?
You don’t need the entire world; all you need is a sufficient number of people who are on the same page as you. Concentrate on a small group of people who are enthusiastic about the work you do. Everything changes once you’ve done it. Your messaging will strike a deeper chord with them, and you’ll likely gain more loyal and passionate clients as a result.
Customers that are looking for the cheapest things will constantly leave you in search of a better deal. Customers who believe in your mission, who get to know you and what you aim to achieve, are much more inclined to stay with you.
What methods do you use to entice your tribe to join you? Emotion. People are moved by logic; they are moved by emotion. Examine all of your marketing to see if you’re leading with emotion or logic. Determine who your tribe is, and then figure out how to connect with them on an emotional level.
Related: 3 Ways to Be a Missionary Success
3) Find a Home For Your Tribe.
The cherry on top of it all, the metaphorical frosting on the cake, is that you need to establish a space for the community you’re building to gather together—a Facebook group, an email newsletter, etc.
It’s one thing to get your message out there and have people buy your stuff.
It’s another thing entirely to build a community of like-minded people who can connect, share common concerns, and become dedicated clients of your brand.
Consider this: Where am I taking these people to form a community? If we don’t wrap our arms around the community we’re building and show them some love, we’re missing out on an opportunity to increase brand affinity.
It will be far more difficult to form the devoted community we are seeking to construct if we leave them in all of the dispersed locations where we found them. Furthermore, selling to an existing customer is always less expensive than attracting new customers.
If you’re a tiny business owner like Maria trying to compete with huge corporations, don’t fall into the price war trap. Determine who you are and who will identify with your mission, then bring them together in a community to see how your business will evolve.