5 Proven Ways to Make Your Business Stand Out in a Crowded Market

When everyone’s shouting the same boring promises like, “we have great service” or “trusted since 1990,” customers stop listening. Whether you run a bakery or a marketing agency, your business needs a unique identity people remember. You don’t have to shout louder; you just need to do things differently.

The following strategies will help your business grab attention and get more sales, even when your competitors are offering the same thing.

1. Use signage that gets noticed

Your signage is often the first thing people see when they walk into your store and those first impressions matter. If your signs blend in or look bad, it will silently diminish customer trust. On the other hand, signs that pop and look amazing will capture attention and strengthen your brand image.

Try these tips for making your signage stand out:

• Get professional signs made. Your inkjet printer might be easy to use, but that doesn’t mean it’s capable of producing a quality sign. It’s worthwhile to invest in custom signage for your brick and mortar location, offsite events, and even your vehicle.
• Use brand colors. The colors and fonts you use on a sign should match your company’s personality and existing brand image to reinforce familiarity.
• Ensure signage is readable at a distance. If you design custom signs from your phone or computer, it’s hard to know if they’ll be visible at a distance. Instead of wasting money experimenting, talk to a professional signage company to find out what typefaces and font sizes are best for your intended use case.
• Update outdated signs. If any of your existing signs are worn, faded, chipped, or are incorrect, replace them right away or customers will associate the quality of your signs with the quality of your services.

Signage can be used to tell people who you are, what you’re about, where to go, and what deals you’re currently running. Make sure your signage reflects the values and image you want the world to see.

2. Clarify your value proposition

Most businesses don’t have a clear value proposition and only make general claims like “we’re the best in town” or “we sell top quality widgets.” These claims don’t inspire anyone to buy from you. To get people hungry for what you’re selling, you need to explain exactly what makes you different and why you’re the best option. For example, you might emphasize speed, accuracy, durability, convenience, quality, or values like eco-friendly materials and locally made products. These are the factors that will encourage people to buy from you when they have other options.

3. Offer outstanding customer service

If you browse the internet for even a short amount of time, you’ll find thousands of customer service nightmare stories from customers who were treated poorly, ignored, or short-changed. The bar is pretty low for customer service, and that’s why offering outstanding customer service has a lot of power.

Upgrade the way you handle customer service requests to make people feel valued. Add in handwritten notes, samples, and free upgrades. Give service reps the power to refund people past the refund deadline and train them to personalize their interactions by using the customer’s name whenever possible. Make your customer service experience as easy as possible for both customers and your representatives.

4. Tell a brand story people want to be part of

Brands with no depth don’t stand out. Spice it up by displaying a personality in your brand, sharing your company’s origin story, mission, or behind-the-scenes content to create an emotional connection with your audience. Customers don’t buy products; they buy solutions and lifestyles. If you make them part of your story, they’ll be more likely to make a purchase. Give people something to be excited over when they interact with or talk about your brand.

5. Create a memorable visual identity

If you look at all the tech giants like Facebook, Google, Twitter (X), and others, you’ll notice their logos are simple and memorable. For many, their entire brand identity is contained with a single letter inside a simple visual. You don’t need to rebrand to a single letter, but you can follow their lead with simplicity.

Complex designs are easily forgotten and won’t help you stand out, but that’s what a lot of today’s DIY designers create. Skip cheap designers on Fiverr and invest in professional branding, even if you’re just a small company. You’ll get a far better logo in the end.

Be the brand they can’t ignore

Differentiating yourself is possible with a little work. From updated signage to upleveled customer interactions, you have the power to become the obvious choice in your market.