peter giblett

Competing in Cyberspace

December 21, 2011 by: Peter B. Giblett

In an earlier post we stated “Given that the majority of corporate web sites are not for famous brand-names, like Coca Cola, they start seriously challenged in that few prospects have heard of the product or the company before their first encounter“. When competing head to head with an established name it is a daunting task to be recognised as a serious competitor.

To discover who your competition is in a web business, be sure that you’re always actually using the right keywords you find and search for others businesses using them. By understanding your competition, you can begin to understand what separate your business from the pack. Then by tweaking your web site, its message and your on-line marketing campaign it is possible to avoid directly competing for rankings.

You may need to offer your customers free products or special prices for referring others to your website, but obviously you must provide to validate a limited-time offer. People are more likely to trust a business which their friends or co-workers recommend, and the increased sales will more than compensate for the cost of the free products. Even in the cyber-world word of mouth referrals are vitally important this is one of the reasons people are involved in building networks on Social media sites, like Facebook. Ultimately the information people obtain from their cyber-friends can be the deciding factor when choosing between two competing products.

If you want to achieve a great following, try using Twitter to generate a buzz. This tool is fantastic, as it allows you to upgrade your presence in the industry and communicate important promotions and products that you may initiate. One key aspect is that Twitter is also free, eliminating excess costs on marketing plans. One of the key aspects of business is to stay as professional as possible at all times in order to separate your company from competitors.

Be honest about the product. Your readers are not stupid. If you know of a product that has a flaw in it, but would still like to promote that product, tell your audience. Make sure you explain the difficulty you had, and why you still enjoy the product. Your customers will appreciate your honesty, as not to many corporations are prepared to do this.

If your e-newsletters aren’t driving the traffic you want, take the time to learn how to develop an engaging blog. Look at the successful blogs for your competing brands then try to cherry pick some of the better ideas that you see in them and leverage them for your business. You can then develop those ideas into your own voice. This is a winning strategy.

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Filed under: Marketing,Mid-Sized Corporations,Revenue Stream,Social Media
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