What makes you and your brand better than the competition?

“Branding is not just about being seen as better than the competition. It's about being seen as the only solution to your audience problem” – John Morgan

A marketing strategy deployed conspicuously to increment sales only going to reveal the business myopia of the organisation concerned. Marketing – be it orthodox (offline, television, radio) way or digitally practised must succeed in selling a set of beliefs and sentiments to its targeted audience. Achieving it is to get the consumers onto the same page as the organisation is, and once that is attained, conversion or sales is reduced to a mere cakewalk.

Marketing is an art to create an image and connect emotionally with its customer. Humans tend to choose things emotionally and the better connection they form with a brand, the more chances of them possessing towards it. Over the period there have been several examples and companies who tried to be different than others and make is the product’s USP and how it can tap into the emotional lacunae of the consumers at large. However, in the era of edge cutting competition, you cannot be merely different than others. Instead, there are other more valuable specific concerns varying from brand to brand matters to be outstanding with your competitor. This might range from customer support, problem-solving approach, the credibility of the brand, the quality and belief, technology evolution. The trust and value of serving for the satisfaction of a customer play an edge in the market and confidence with a brand itself open the door of "Word of mouth". Why a customer trusts Amazon more than any other of its e-commerce competitor, speaks volume of its sustainability in the industry? Why when we think of ordering some online gifts we consider Archies? Why we prefer to shop online on Myntra and Jabong more than others? Why? Customer's connection with a brand.

There is various kind of efforts any brand can do for keeping it competitive in a market. For any brand, there is a cycle of growth to declination. The one which survives is the one who is competing. Innovation is one way to outlast in the market. The new technology, when used by competitors, cannot be ignored. The better you innovate, the different you stand out from rest. Like when Android launched, and Nokia continued to stick on its Symbian OS, even being trusted by the customer and maintaining its reputation, it could not succeed to survive. Key is to be with the change. The technology moves on every day, and in the era of laptops, Palmtops, no one would choose to use CRT monitors. The world is growing with Artificial intelligence and food is getting delivered at doorsteps. The ease a brand provides to its customer for the usage becomes its priority. Humans are lazy, and thus they tend not to like complicated things. The problem-solving approach towards any business is a great deal.

“Marketing is no longer about stuff that you make but the stories you tell”- Seth Godin

Driving sales, as I perceive it, is only a rewarding by-product of the big agenda that marketing is. The online presence of a brand does matter a lot. However, for a brand like Coca-cola, it may not matter much because the reach to its customer is already organic and in the heart of people, but this is not the same with every brand.

The age-old art of storytelling is still just as effective when it comes to skewing the interests of consumers in one’s favour. Given the fact that it’s a mid-range business, digital marketing naturally becomes the preferred choice to brand the product. TV, radio and billboard commercials should follow a catchy campaign idea that must carve a space for itself in the heart and mind of consumers. Managing to create a comprehensive awareness about the brand’s existence, is half the job done in marketing, for human psychology works by being reliant on things that are widely recognised. With the audience bearing a good awareness in their mind about the upcoming product or existing product, digital marketing campaigns can then help us connect personally with the customer base and help fetch necessary response about the product, which in turn shall give us a fair idea of product’s market demand. Social media ads, accurately targeted, can bring us great results. Even engagement activities like creating a poll or quiz that allows customers to interact with the brands extensively pave the way for a healthy business relationship. Interaction and word of mouth give a brand an edge to be popular among its competitor.

Now there is one major concern which comes up and pounds the head of a marketer, how can it be possible to judge if ‘A’ Company is a competitor of ‘B’? Why is ‘B’ more preferred than ‘A’ doesn’t make brand ‘B’ better than ‘A’?

There lies a difference in the specific set of customer, The class. Less community in comparison to folks may prefer the high range of brands. The elite customer of a brand and the range of the target audience is another significant matter of importance to ponder on! For obvious reasons, Apple has its separate plate of the customer, while Xiaomi is midrange budget brand what is pocket-friendly to the majority. This doesn't prevail the sense; Apple will ever drop down its prices to meet the competitor's statistics, because, it has a different target audience. The Quality, brand image, budget and audience combined with basics of marketing tactics can always help a brand to grow and be better forever.

To end up with a remark on how you can be better than others is Emotional bonding with Customer and Satisfaction with a brand, problem-solving Credibility, Innovation, and continuously improving Technology for keeping it sustainable for years.