How to Steal (I Mean Borrow) Clients from Your Competitors
By: Skot Waldron
Tags: Digital Marketing, Competitive Analysis, Marketing, Branding

Want to steal clients from your competitors? No, because then you just sound like a jerk. So, I guess a nicer way to say it would be, “Want the clients of your competition to hire you instead?”. Yeah, that’s better. Probably not what we all say behind closed doors, though, right?

We all want more business. In order for that to happen, we need people to hire us. So, what are some realistic ways to go about doing it? In our experience, it comes down to combining an accessible image and service with unique value points and smart marketing. Let’s break it down a little and discuss how these components can carve you out a larger piece of your industry’s pie.

Accessibility

Is your homepage up to date? Is it something you’d feel comfortable navigating if you had never seen it before? Do you respond to customer complaints on social media? Does your online blog offer a personalized voice of authority in your industry?

These marketing strategies are about increasing the accessibility of your company. If you want to lead the industry, you need to be accessible to your customers. This means providing communication channels for questions, feedback, and education that are always open and expertly managed. It also means using easy-to-understand language, clear calls-to-action, and strong, relevant design. Incorporating aspects of your brand identity that highlight ease of use and accessibility will allow you to win over customers by offering them the comfort and convenience they want. Remember, when choosing between simple and complex, customers will choose simple every time.

Offering New Value

Another great way to differentiate yourself from the competition is by honing in on a new value element you can offer your customer base that the competition has yet to tap into. For example, Amazon Prime’s subscription success skyrocketed after they streamed online shows and movies. One of the best ways to decide what new value element to incorporate is by gathering customer feedback and performing a competitive audit (link to both blogs). Find where your niche in the market is and then capitalize on it.

Strategic Targeting

Being available for your customers is great, and having valuable elements to offer them is essential. However, waiting for them to come to you is not going to be enough to win them from your competition. To truly steal (I mean borrow) your competitor’s customers, you’re going to need to use technology to your advantage and intentionally and strategically target your competitor’s customers with content. For example, Facebook’s Lookalike Audience tool lets you directly target fans of other businesses, and Twitter’s Follower targeting creates segmented audiences based on the businesses or specific thought leaders your customers already respect. Once you get their attention, hit your competitor’s customers with awesome content that will make them remember you and view you as an asset. If you can do that, you’re sure to make some waves.

Understanding the Competition

Let’s face it, it’s all about being in the right place and the right time. We all have competition. Do you understand your competition? I would say that a lot of you probably have a good hunch of what they offer. You probably have even been in their store or tried one of their products. That’s great, but do you REALLY understand what makes you different? Why would someone go through all the trouble of severing a relationship with one of your competitors to give you a chance? It’s not an easy process. There has to be a specific “pain” that we are solving that this potential client can’t get (or is not getting) from anyone else. That’s why competitive analysis is such a big deal and why it’s one of the first things we do.

At the end of the day, if you want to BORROW your competitor’s customers you need to be there when they aren’t and perform at 99% (because 100% is a bit unrealistic) every time.

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Want to be more effective with the time you have creating marketing strategies? You can read The 5 Step Process For a More Structured Marketing Strategy eBook for a more in-depth discussion of these concepts and how you can begin to implement them.