How to make sales in a competitive market

Why are you better/different?

The key to surviving in a saturated market is having a point of difference. Examine as many competitor’s products in depth as you can; to compete with established businesses you’ll need to offer something that they don’t.

Research will help you quickly establish whether or not there’s a space in the market for you. Are there any identical, or near identical products to yours on offer? Can you compete with their prices? Do you have the necessary resources?

While a crowded market can make it harder to market and sell products, it doesn’t mean you can’t survive if you find the right niche. For instance, you might be selling bouquets.

Although the flower industry exists in almost every town and city, some people have found success incorporating food, hidden messages and novelty items into bouquets. The key to success, often, is to break the established mould.

If you’re not able to break any moulds, you can still create unique marketing messages, target new audiences and distribute to new areas. It’s all down to doing something different.

Convince the masses!

Once you’ve established your difference, it’s time to convince the masses. If you’re a new business people may refuse to buy from you, choosing instead to stay loyal to established brands. That’s why it’s so important to get your products into their hands.

Once they’ve tried them out for themselves, they can make up their own minds. And, if things go as planned, you’ll win new customers and word of mouth advertising.

Consider sponsoring events, handing out free samples and attending relevant conferences/clubs. It’ll help you build up credibility, as more people will begin to recognize your brand.

But it’s important to not overdo gifting; keep in mind that you still need to turn a profit, and gifting to the wrong people likely won’t result in a great return rate.

Do your research, and get your products seen by the right crowd.

Accept that you’re starting from scratch.

“I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me.” – Tracee Ellis Ross

When you start out, you won’t have the budget your competitors will have. Your packaging won’t be as well designed, you won’t be super polished, and you won’t have every little detail ironed out and perfected.

That’s okay.

Your competition should inspire you, not be an impossible benchmark. Focus for now on creating your products and getting them in front of people; send them out in brown paper bags if need be. Everything else will develop with time.

- Lena Klein