Knowing Who Your Competition Really Is 

Your competition is more than just another company in your own industry. 

Yes, they are your competition. 

Depending on your geographic region and reach, they may be your most direct competition. But, they’re far from your only competition. 

You’re not just competing against another company. You’re competing against an experience. 

That may not have always been the case. But, in the wake of a pandemic, it definitely is now. 

What you offer can be just as important as how you offer it. That’s something that our full service web agency has always helped clients with, but especially now. 

“Your Customers’ Last Experience” 

In “The Art of War,” (written in 5th Century BC) military strategist Sun Tzu writes: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.” 

Now, obviously, digital marketing is not the same as ancient warfare. 

That said, he’s got a point when it comes to your competition. 

If you make decisions based on what you think your competition is without really knowing what they are, it can hold your company back. 

I thought about that when I read this excellent article about “Exploring Dynamic Direct Marketing Trends and Strategies.” 

Even if your industry doesn’t involve printing or direct mail, the article is worth your time. 

Of particular relevance is the part a bit further down: 

“You are competing with the last best experience your customer had.” 

That’s profound. That’s true. 

It goes on: “this new way of thinking is in contrast to the old belief that ‘you are competing with your competitors.’ This rings true even more so after the past year and a half, which put the customer experience in focus during the pandemic.” 

Customer experience was always important. Now, though, it’s a real dealbreaker. If there’s a part of your customer experience that’s anything less than easy, simple, and seamless, the odds are high your potential customers are going to go to someone else. 

If you aren’t sure about your customer experience, or you haven’t changed it in a while, there’s a very easy way to test it. 

Try to use your site as if you were a customer. 

Start at the beginning of the customer journey and go through to the end. Was there anything that was in the slightest bit challenging? If so, you know where to improve. 

An important part of this test: starting as early in the customer journey as possible. 

The Judging Starts Before Customers Pick You 

You may have read the above and thought: “OK, customer experience is important, got it. But, that’s something I”m worrying about once they’ve already paid. How do I bring more of them in?” 

The same principle applies. 

“You are competing with the last best experience your customer had.” 

That’s true of social media. It’s true of your content, videos, blogs, email marketing, and everything else. 

If someone loves the social media of your competitors, if their email marketing resonated with the customer in a way that yours didn’t, again, you weren’t able to properly compete with the customers’ last best experience. 

“Customer experience” doesn’t begin once they’re on your site. It starts long before that. 

Hire a Full-Service Web Agency with Experience in Reputation Management

Ensuring that you’re providing the best “potential customer experience” can help your company to convert more customers and hang onto them. 

For more help with this and anything else related to online marketing, you can reach our full-service web agency at (888) 477-9540.