One of the most challenging aspects of starting a tech start-up can be standing out. A brand differentiation strategy is crucial. Your business’s strengths are what differentiates it from its competitors.
Your company’s strengths can be found in any area. These could include your tech, pricing, business model, friendliness, store layout, or staff.
Any power that is unique or uncommon to your business can be used, and it can also be used to attract customers in your industry. Companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors and gain customers by leveraging their unique strengths.
This is a process that requires research. While many businesses know their strengths, it is essential to understand your customers’ needs. They are likely to be willing to pay more for your services.
Ask your customers for feedback and read their social media opinions. For determining your differentiation strategy, third-party reviews and comparatives are a great way to get it right. Your goal is to be well-informed about all your strengths and focus on those unique to your company.
Your team should also do similar research on your immediate competition. It is important to remember that your team should choose the most aligned strategy with their strengths. This will ensure that your differentiation strategy is less expensive and easier to implement, and looks authentic. Research has shown that people prefer authenticity to someone trying to make quick money.
Let’s now look at some examples of brand differentiation strategies that you might consider.
Table of Contents
1. Target an Underrepresented Customer
Your team will be able to spot an underrepresented customer if they pay attention to trends in customers. This customer has a passionate base of customers but is not being targeted by your company. It is essential to establish if these customers are large enough that your company can target them with a targeted approach.
Apple realized that many of its customers were grandmothers and grandfathers using the smartphone technology for the first time a few years back. Apple capitalized on this by creating ads that highlighted how iPhones could make connections between grandparents, regardless of distance.
Apple helps elderly customers set up their devices in-store and start using them as soon as they walk out of the store. Apple also explains its technology in a way that anyone can understand. This sets them up for success.
2. Get in on the Innovations Early
Many people think of innovation as something wholly new or crazy that a mad scientist creates on a stormy night at an R&D office. But, innovation is more often found in improving upon what already exists. Innovating can be as easy as making it faster or more affordable to make it a game-changer for many companies.
It would help if you keep your team informed about any new technology that could dramatically improve operations. It is essential to have an R&D department dedicated to developing technology in your industry with potential growth.
This can position your company to become a specialist in new technology before others. It can make a big difference in implementing new technology to acquire customers. But remember, in the end, who does it best in consumers’ eyes wins the war.
Many healthcare companies are looking for blockchain specialists. The industry could save millions by using blockchain technology to centralize, protect, and track their customer data more cost-effectively. Blockchain specialists are poised to reap the rewards of this technology, even though there are many leaders.
3. Specialize in a Specific Industry
Two types most commonly use this approach: the first is one that was started of a need in another industry, and the second has gained deep industry knowledge through customers.
If you have a deep understanding of the industry’s challenges and ambitions and incorporate that knowledge into your tech, your company will attract people who work in that sector.
People use technology to solve a problem and make their lives easier, and anything that communicates this and delivers results will be noticed. Your team should be able to market to these customers effectively enough to attract them away from your competition.
4. High-Quality Content
Content marketing can help you stand out if your strengths are industry knowledge and excellent writing and communication skills. Content marketing provides your target audience with helpful content such as videos, blogs, and posts on social media that help them face challenges and reach goals specific to their industry.
Content marketing helps customers retain their customers by providing helpful information that attracts new customers and keeps them coming back. Your company will be viewed as a trusted authority within your industry, which will result in increased interest in your business and trust in your technology.
5. Specific Standard
It’s a differentiating factor if your company has perfected a particular standard to the point that it is well-known for it. This could include faster, higher quality, reliability, and lower cost. If your company can meet all requirements consistently, it will be able to stand out and market it to more customers.
6. Offer a Different Business Model
Try to offer a different business model to your customers than the others in a sea of subscriptions that all charge the same monthly fee. The argument is that people will pay more for better quality and personalized settings if your team is skilled at raising capital.
It would be best if you also thought of other avenues for your tech. Netflix was able to capitalize quickly by streaming its entertainment. It would help if you never overlooked potential new delivery models.
Listen to your customers and take note of the changes they would like to see in the industry. Not every business is the first to implement this change. But it’s the one that customers see as the best.
7. What if None of this Applies? It’s Possible to Partner Up
Sometimes, it is necessary to join forces with another company to surpass the competition and grab a larger share of your industry’s market. This is best done by partnering up with a company with strengths that complement yours and vice versa. There are several ways in which companies can do this.
They could merge to form one company. One project or one product line could be the subject of a strategic alliance between two companies. Acquisition of a larger, more innovative company by one with more influence and power could be possible. A.I. is a popular trend. Startups are being bought because they offer innovative solutions that maximize revenue and minimize costs in many industries.
8. Think Big
Think big from the beginning. Think about the future when you create your first product. Amazon began as an online bookstore, but it has expanded to include online retail. Facebook started as a chat platform, but it quickly evolved into an entertainment platform.
If your goal is to create an app, you will fail. If you have the ambition to build a complex system, you will succeed. Victoria Repa, BetterMe
Conclusion
One or two corporate giants once controlled the tech industry. Today’s technological advances have made it easier to enter the tech industry, allowing for a flurry of startups.
New tech companies are launching every day, and there is more competition and higher stakes than ever. You are among thousands of startups trying to establish themselves as a startup, and you must set yourself in today’s highly competitive tech world to stand out.