Use Your Website to Grow Market Share in Your Industry

Have you been watching your competitors excel, wondering what you can do to get the same results or better?

No matter how long you’ve been in business, and no matter how many competitors you have, you can always get more sales.

However, getting the lion’s share of sales in your industry requires a strategic approach.

Want to blast past your competition and become a top name in your industry?

Here’s what you need to do.

1. Find more pain points

The top brands in any industry always know exactly what problems their market faces and they advertise their products as the solution. These problems are called pain points, and knowing them is one of the most fundamental aspects to running a marketing campaign.

Knowing your market’s pain points will tell you how to market your products and services. The more pain points you can hit, the more of your market you can reach and ultimately convert.

Most will be easy to pinpoint, but people aren’t consciously aware of all their problems. So, make sure to consider points your market doesn’t appear to be aware of having.

Pain points exist in four general groups:

Pain points exist in four general groups

  • Financial. There are several ways finances become a pain point and it varies by industry. For example, if you’re a SaaS company and your competitor is expensive, you can solve your market’s problem by offering a more affordable service.

In another industry, the pain point might be that the customer is looking for ways to generate more money in their business. In this case, the solution might be your product that is designed to help them earn more revenue.

  • Productivity. People hate wasting time, and that’s what makes lack of productivity an important pain point to hit when appropriate. Are your prospects wasting time with your competitors who make the process difficult? Create a smoother, easier experience to solve this type of pain point.
  • Process-related. This type of pain point mostly applies to software and similar industries. For instance, if your market is struggling with applications that make it hard for them to gather and segment leads, you can win those customers by offering a better solution.
  • Support-related. This is a common pain point in nearly every industry. Customers need support, and they feel frustrated when they aren’t getting the support they need. You can resolve this problem by offering outstanding customer support 24/7.

Look for new pain points to address and resolve

You probably already have a list of pain points you use in your marketing campaigns, so take out that list and see if there’s anything more you can add. If your list is already extensive you’ll probably need to do more research to find additional pain points.

One way to do this is to search online forums, like Reddit, for complaints related to the issues your products and services solve. Find out what people are complaining about and when you find new complaints, see if you can solve those problems. If not, see if you can alter your product to accomplish that goal. This brings up the next point.

2. Be willing to change your products and/or market

The willingness to change direction according to a market’s preference is one of the biggest reasons certain companies do better than others. There are two things that, when misaligned, will prevent you from getting more sales: targeting the wrong market and being unwilling to change a product to be a better fit for your market.

Companies that aren’t willing to adjust their products or market will never blast past the competition to get the lion’s share of sales in their industry. Don’t let this be your company. You won’t sell many products unless your market wants what you have. If your market doesn’t want what you have, you’re either targeting the wrong market or you need to change your product. All the best marketing messages in the world won’t sell products to a mismatched market.

There are several indications that it’s time to make some changes:

  • Persistent complaints. Do your customers have a persistent complaint about something that doesn’t work? When multiple customers tell your company reps that something is broken or not working quite right, that’s a sure sign that it’s time to make some changes.
  • Unmet needs. If your product or service doesn’t meet expectations or needs, you’re either targeting the wrong market or you just need to focus more on your customer. Unmet expectations could be the result of misleading marketing or not explaining the point of your product correctly. However, if your product fails to meet expectations on a basic level, it could be an oversight with your product’s features.
  • Numerous feature requests. Do your customers frequently request a specific feature? If your customers are constantly requesting certain features because that’s what your competitors are offering, consider making those changes. You can’t blast past the competition if you don’t at least match the competition.
  • Your competitors offer a feature you don’t have. Even if none of your customers request it, find out if your competitors are providing features your products don’t have. Consider at least matching the features they offer, but then go one step further and make your features even better.
  • Excessive returns. Do multiple people return your product for the same reason? If a large number of returns are connected to the same reason, investigate that reason. Then, do whatever it takes to fix it. You can’t fix everything, but you can certainly resolve common issues that prompt returns.
  • You could produce a higher quality product. Is your product of the highest quality possible? Consider the quality of your product. If you can improve in this area, you’ll have a better chance at getting more sales. Customers want high-quality products and are willing to pay more to get them. This is especially important if your competitors offer better quality products than what you currently produce.

These are just some of the indications that it’s time to change your products. Check to make sure your market is correct first. If your market is correct, but your products need some adjustments, be willing to make those adjustments.

3. Figure out what your competitors do wrong

Nobody is perfect, and that includes even your biggest competitors. Even in the big corporate arenas there are billion-dollar companies that fall short in some areas. Other times, it’s just a matter of preference.

Take a good look at your competitors to see what they’re doing wrong in the eyes of your market. If their products are great, then look at their customer service. Do they have happy customers? Do their customers complain about the return process?

Pinpoint areas where your competitors fall short with their customer service process and step up your own game to do better in your company. Sometimes all it takes is outstanding customer service to win people over to your brand. Nobody wants to do business with a company that makes it hard to do simple things like process returns and get basic help.

4. Develop a strong brand identity

Develop a strong brand identity

The lion’s share of sales will almost always go to the brand that has the strongest reputation in their industry. Having a strong brand reputation doesn’t just happen out of nowhere, though. It’s developed over time and earned with action.

Brands don’t become household names overnight, nor do they become household names without producing high value for customers. However, not every high-quality product will become a household name. Some of the best products on the market never reach the masses and it’s in part because the company owners don’t bother to develop their brand.

Brand development is a process, but it’s necessary to establish yourself in your market. Your brand projects your core values as a business and is vital to your ability to generate sales. Developing a strong brand won’t guarantee your success, but it will create a powerful foundation for the rest of your efforts.

5. Listen to your customers

You’d be surprised to learn how many companies don’t listen to their customers when they provide important feedback. Most of the time, it’s because that feedback is negative. However, negative feedback will give you the advantage in outdoing your competition. When you know what’s not working, you can fix it and make your products or services better than ever.

Listen to your customers’ concerns with the intention of understanding where they’re coming from. It’s difficult not to take negative feedback personally when you’ve poured your heart and soul into your business, but perfection doesn’t exist. If your goal is to generate massive sales, you need to know exactly what needs to be refined in order to get closer to your goal.

6. Build a better website

Build a better website

When things aren’t working, you’ve probably heard people say to “build a better mousetrap” to get better results. That’s exactly what having a professional website will do for your business – you’ll start getting better results.

Whether your sales come from online or a physical storefront, having a beautiful, professionally designed website is imperative to your success.

If you generate sales from a physical store, your website will serve as your calling card and point of reference for people looking for your services. Your site will provide them with your contact information, address, hours of operation, and directions – all of which are crucial if you want to increase your customer base.

While having a professional website is essential for every business, it’s even more important when you run your business online. When one-hundred percent of your sales come from your website, it needs to be absolutely perfect in the following areas:

  • Amazing user experience (UX)
  • Smooth user interface (UI)
  • An easy-to-use navigation menu
  • An enticing email sign-up form
  • A smooth checkout process
  • No barriers to the sale
  • High-quality content
  • Mobile friendly responsive design
  • Set up for search engine optimization (SEO)

All of these factors play a critical role in keeping your visitors on your website long enough to turn them into conversions. If you’re experiencing a high bounce rate or a low conversion rate, your website probably needs a tune-up.

We’ll build you a website that will get better results!

At website.design, we’ll build you a better mouse trap so that you can generate the sales you deserve. Already have a website? We’ll make changes and suggestions that will help you get more conversions. Want a new website built from scratch? We’ll build you a professional website that will help you get more sales and really make you stand out in your industry. Contact us today for a free quote or to learn more about our services.

Timothy Carter
Latest posts by Timothy Carter (see all)
Top