How To Be Smart In A World Of Struggling Startups

How do you differentiate your startup company from everyone else? How can you get a competitive advantage when everyone else in your industry has a head start?

While it’s not easy to gain a competitive edge, it’s possible. There are some quick ways to increase your leverage even when you’re new to the scene. Here are 5 ways to bulletproof your business as soon as you open your doors:

Hire the right people.

Source your staff from companies that have already vetted project consultants and subject experts. You will rarely find seasoned talent by placing a classified ad in an industry journal. Instead your chances of success increase by using a staffing company. But not all staffing companies are the same. As a tech company, it makes sense to use a staffing company like Extreme Technologies Inc. The’ve spent over a decade bridging the gap between tech firms and seasoned employees in that field.

Position your company in the best light from the beginning.

It’s tempting to fall for the belief that clients and customers are easy to find. All you need is some shrewd advertising and canny promotions to pull them in. The reality of the situation is that the people who need your services will find you. In fact, they are already looking for you.

By focusing on positioning over prospecting, you use attraction marketing to get prospects. Position your business as a new solution that meets an unmet market need. This will give you a jump start over competitors who rely on salesmanship alone to close sales.

How do you position yourself as a new solution? Create content that shows that you are a trusted specialist on your subject.

Prove you are a leading authority through inbound marketing methods. Think of blogging, social media marketing, and free education campaigns to help your prospects.

In other words, teach rather than sell. Extend the free line to persuade prospects to invest in your products. Don’t chase people down, luring them into your net with hype and drama. Instead be generous and share value.

Go beyond traditional business plans.

While a bad business plan is better than no plan at all, a good business plan is only a static strategy. What research suggests as a good theoretical construct may not work in the real world.

So while it’s good to have a plan, make it a provisional plan. This is an organic plan that can ride trends. It should be flexible enough to meet emerging consumer needs.

How do you transform a theoretical business plan into a reality-tested, dynamic plan? You do it by setting up systems to gauge public interest. Ask customers to fill out a brief survey after they make a purchase or use customer service. Develop an active social media presence. Send out a weekly newsletter that invites customers to write back with any questions. Get feedback from as many channels as you can.

Starbucks has figured out how to go beyond static business planning. They have an unusual method of deciding on when to open up their next coffee shop. Their data-based system perfectly illustrates how a dynamic planning based on feedback works.

According to Forbes contributor Micah Solomon, a  prolific writer on customer service and customer experience, “Starbucks ultimately lets the cliff of dissatisfaction guide its business expansion. As soon as the company’s metrics indicate that the level of demand, and the resulting wait times, are routinely threatening customer satisfaction, Starbucks opens another store down the block.”

Develop your people.

Although you may have hired the right people, you also have to do the right things to keep them. Establish a corporate culture that makes promising talent enjoy their work. One thing that top employees love is the opportunity to get better at what they do well. Google, for instance, does more than offer an astonishing range of benefits to employees. It also offers many educational programs for employees to always acquire more skills. In Skilled up, Nick Toscano explains Google’s unique way to nurture employee talent: “Google offers core and job-specific courses to all its employees. Courses cover an array of topics from personal finances to management, to emotional intelligence.”

While you may not have the same resources, think about what you can do to make your company a place that fosters professional growth.

Focus on building a value-based culture.

One reason for Japan’s astonishing industrial recovery after the Second World War dismantled most of the country’s industry was developing a unique Japanese management culture.

It focused on values like service to the public, fairness and honesty, teamwork for the common cause, uniting effort for improvement, courtesy and humility, accordance with natural laws, and gratitude for blessings.

While you may not be able to promote traditional values, think about what values you could build into your corporate culture.

6.Gain Traction in the Marketplace

Launching a startup requires courage and passion. But this isn’t enough to be a significant player in a competitive business landscape. It takes a little more than a compelling vision and a pulse-raising mission statement to gain traction in a marketplace. This is especially true if it is already dominated by established companies. These five tips will go a long way in giving you a good start.