How to Attract Your Competitors’ Customers

 

If you were required to describe your business while referencing your biggest competitor, what would you say? Do you have better pricing? Better customer service? A more trustworthy source of materials?

Now think about what you love about your competitors. Maybe they have more creative websites. Perhaps their presence on social media is where you want yours to be. Do they have more loyal customers than you?

If you want to attract a competitor’s customers to your business, you need to offer experiences they can’t find elsewhere.

I’ve worked with hundreds of online store owners. Nearly every time I am approached about a redesign, the client points me to a competitor’s website and says, “So this is what I want.” I ask for clarification because surely, they wouldn’t want exactly what a fellow business already possesses. But it’s almost always the case. So, I came up with a simple questionnaire. It looks like this…

• Name your biggest competitor. Keep in mind this is not necessarily based on the money they make, but who you believe is the biggest threat to your business based on your target audience.
• Visit the competitor’s website. Name only three things you love about it.
• Visit one of your favorite websites to shop — it can sell anything. Name three things this website has your competitor does not. Don’t worry if those features don’t seem to apply to your competitor.

Then, we talk. Usually, by the end of the meeting, the decision-maker switches gears. Primarily because I point out the key factor in coexisting with, or even crushing, the competition. It’s a simple statement, really.

If you want to attract a competitor’s customers to your business, you need to offer experiences they can’t find elsewhere.

No amount of “copying” of products, website design, or strategy will matter if you can’t give people reason to leave a competitor for you. Even better pricing often isn’t enough to sway folks who are loyal to another brand. Shoppers don’t become faithful based on price alone, but rather the entire experience.

But, if I’m cheaper than Amazon…

We want to think it’s essentially Amazon’s pricing strategies entice consumers to shop the site dozens of times each year. But it’s the entire shopping process. From speeding through checkout, taking advantage of free Prime shipping, tracking orders, and receiving notifications of deliveries — these are a few features that make for an easy shopping process. With billions of dollars invested in chatbots, product recommendations, and complex automation, Amazon has many aspects of the ideal online store nailed down. Except for what actually creates a real relationship between brand and consumer.

Amazon doesn’t offer personalized service on a “let’s get to know each other” level. It can’t compete with small businesses when it comes to knowing all its products and how they can help a consumer in a particular situation. While Amazon offers free returns, shoppers prefer getting the right product in their hands the first time around.

Focus on filling the void

To succeed, you must go beyond the standard expectations. You need to fill the voids competitors have created, keeping in mind that consumers don’t yet realize some of them. Pay attention to customer complaints about companies as a whole, and use the information to identify problems your business can solve efficiently.

Regardless of your competitor’s size, there’s always a way to entice consumers with what you have to offer. Don’t be a copycat. There are plenty of holes competitors have left for you to fill.