More Than 20 Questions That Can Help You Become Different From Competitors

different from competitors

To be different from competitors in the market is essential in ensuring your company’s prosperous future. So, it is critical to have a clear answer to this question: how is your company different from competitors?

One of the most asked questions from entrepreneurs when we talk about the differentiation between them and their competitors is „How can I differentiate when there are too many similarities that I can’t avoid?” If you become different from your competitors, the potential customers will choose you instead of them. Because of that, this is an important question you need to answer.

Probably, this is a valid question from more than 95% of entrepreneurs who are not inventing something new or creating a new market for entirely new products and services.

There are many things that different companies do in the same way. They create their products and services in the same or similar way. Also, they market their products and services similarly. They are targeting the same or similar customers.

So, how can your company become different from competitors if you find yourself in such a position?

To help you discover differentiation possibilities, I will share 20-plus questions whose answers will lead you to find unique ways to make your company different from competitors.

RelatedHow to Beat Competition in Business? 13 Steps to Beat Your Competition

1. Products and Services to Differentiate Your Small Business

1. Are my products and services better than those of my competitors? If they are, what is the most significant difference? If they are not, how can I make them better?

2. Do my products and services better solve customers’ problems than competitors’ products and services? Are these problems what customers want to solve? Why I better solve my customer’s problems from my competitors? Can I improve the problem-solving process, and how?

3. Are my products and services more innovative regarding functionality and design than competitors? What functionalities and design features are most valuable to the customers? Why do my products and services have better functionalities and design? How can I improve these to stay one step ahead of my competitors?

4. Do I continuously improve my products and services to make them better for the customers?

5. How do I know where my products and services are compared to competitors? What analytical tools will I use? What information sources will I need to use?

If you want to be different from your competitors, you must answer this question. But use the answers to add more value to your products and services.

different from competitors customers

2. Your Total Offer to Differentiate Yourself

6. Am I using additional things around my products and services to increase the value of my total offer? What can I offer as an addition to my current offer? Also, what customer’s services are valued the most by the customers? What services are offered by my competitors, and I still don’t offer them to my customers?

7. Is my total offer delivering an extraordinary experience for my customers better than my competitor’s offer? What is the exceptional customer experience?

8. Do I have better incentives from my competitors to make customers return for more in my company? How do my competitors attract customers with different incentives? How can I improve my incentives?

9. Do I continuously innovate and improve the total customer experience with my total offer? What are my competitors doing in this matter?

10. How is my total offer positioned on the market compared with competitors? How can I compare the position of my total offer with competitors?

If you want to improve your total offer to differentiate your small business from competitors, also use the following four critical questions about your total offer from the customers’ perspective.

3. Your Business Process to Become Different From Competitors

11. Are my business processes optimized to deliver a total customer experience better than my competitor’s processes? What are the most critical elements in this system? How can I continue developing my systems to improve the total customer experience with my company continuously?

12. How will my business processes affect delivering total customer experience? What business processes directly impact the total customer experience?

13. Do I continuously innovate new business processes always to be one step ahead of the competition? Do I have in place systems that will ensure continuous innovation?

14. Do I always continuously improve my current business processes to be one step ahead of the competition? Do I have in place systems that will ensure a continuous improvement process?

15. How do my business processes perform compared with competitors? How can I measure and compare this? Where can I find the required information?

You need to know that you want to build a business, not a product. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to build valuable systems easily and differentiate yourself from competitors.

4. Your Business Model Can Make Different From Competitors

16. Is my business model better than a competitor’s from the customer’s perspective? How is my business model better than competitors’ business models? What do I need to do to improve my business model?

17. Is my business model more dynamic and adjustable according to market needs? How can I develop and implement a dynamic business model for my company?

18. Do I innovate my business models to stay ahead of the competition and come close to customers? Do I have systems in place to continuously work on business model innovation to always be better than my rivals on the market?

19. Do I improve my business models to stay ahead of the competition and come close to customers? How can I improve my business model to become different from competitors?

20. How do I measure my business model’s performance compared to competitors? How can I compare my business model with my competitors? Where can I find and how can I use the information related to the competitor’s business model?

If you want to differentiate from competitors, you must also answer these 22 competitive analysis questions.