You graduate from college and are looking to land your dream job. Or, perhaps you are competing for a promotion within your company or starting a new job search. Regardless of your current situation, you should always work to ensure that you will be highly marketable.
Think about major retailers you shop with all the time, and think about their competition. Why do you choose Brand A over Brand B, especially when they’re so similar? Customers are in the same position with your company and your competitors. They’re going to have to pick one over the other, and you want them to choose you instead of them. If you want to cement your place in your niche, you need to make yourself stand out.
The primary goal of any marketing effort is to stand out, be seen and have a potential customer to focus their attention on you. You want to differentiate yourself from your competition.
But your competitor is trying to do that, too.
So, just exactly how can you put your brand, your product and everything you do on a high-reaching pedestal?
Look better? Possibly.
Provide a huge selection? Perhaps.
Compete on pricing? Not always…
There are many ways that you can differentiate yourself from your competition, and they don’t all involved lowering your standards.
In fact, most of what we’ll touch on today is actually about bettering yourself!
So let’s look for different ways to differentiate yourself so you can stand out
Create a brand for yourself.
Personal branding is becoming more common, but what exactly does that mean? Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, couldn’t have said it better: “Your brand is what people say about you when you aren’t in the room.” In a Ted Talk titled “Own Your Personal Brand,” Jenni Flinders, a successful businesswoman, emphasized the importance of a strong, consistent personal brand and reminded the audience that, when created effectively, it can be what sets you apart from others. Solid personal branding relies on consistency and authenticity.
Stay connected with your connections.
When it comes to networking, I find that quality always beats quantity. Creating meaningful connections with professionals in your field, rather than connecting with everyone you meet, is essential to your career (Forbes). In addition, it is extremely important to make connections with those who will not only advocate for you but also bring value to your experience.
Networking in and of itself is crucial, but in order to reap the benefits of a professional network, you must keep in frequent contact with your connections. Avoid relying solely on email communication when reaching out to your connections. Dorie Clark, the author of “Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future,” encourages professionals to take advantage of every communication tool in their arsenal — everything from a handwritten note to the occasional coffee date.
Be active on Social Media.
A beautiful property is a very attractive thing to look at, people dream about living in some of these places, so posting regularly on Social Media will definitely attract more attention to your business. Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are the ideal channels to show photos and videos of properties. It is highly advisable to add short but effective descriptions of the benefits and details of each of them. It can also be very positive to occasionally make Facebook Live videos and Instagram stories talking about an especially attractive property directly from the spot. These videos will generate interest and organic traffic to your page, you can even form a community on social media. People that follow you on social media may not be thinking about buying a property at this moment, but everyone likes to look at nice houses, and then when it’s time to buy they’ll think about your company.
Predict the future.
Don’t wait for your boss, client or coworker to realize what he or she needs from you. You’ll be serving a much larger business purpose if you empathize with their needs and make those predictions on your own. Going the extra mile is an appealing skill, and anticipating those needs — whether it’s for your boss, customer or colleague — will lead to success in any industry. You’ll put yourself in a position of power by getting ahead of the curve. If you make someone’s job easier, they’ll never let you go.
When the opportunity arises, spend the majority of your time listening. Meeting with a potentially major client? Learn about his needs so you can align your next move with his biggest pain points. Put yourself in his shoes: If you were him, what would you expect before your next meeting? What would make his job easier? Can you do something that’ll make him look good to his superiors?
Above all, strive to become good at what you do.
Having a sense of commitment and discipline is the only way one can master a skill. If you’re great at a skill, it will help you get ahead of the rest, show that you can nurture your talent besides school, assure recruiters of your good time management skills, and paint a more complete picture of you outside your resume. If instead you are just looking to develop new skills or to be more specific, develop skills relevant to your dream job, do internships. Yes, internships give you the kind of exposure and experience that are extremely valued by every employer today, especially if the internship you did is relevant to the job or industry that you are planning to apply for. Such relevant internship experiences is also one way that can help you differentiate from your peers who do not have as many relevant work experiences as you.
Source: Multiple source via google
