Entering a crowded marketplace is something that may sound inadvisable, but it is sometimes necessary to pull off a certain type of business venture. While it may make more sense to try to enter underserved niches or markets, this isn’t always possible with the offerings you can provide, or compatible with your vision of what type of business you want to be.

So, if you are a brand that has found themselves in a crowded or even saturated marketplace, what can you do by way of marketing to make sure you are discovered by potential customers?

Focus on What Makes You Different

In a crowded marketplace, you need to think more competitively than in other types of market, and this means you either have to have unique selling points that you can base your marketing around, or you need to make yourself competitive in other ways, such as with a more aggressive use of promotional pricing or discounts.  Something that sets your brand apart doesn’t have to be something amazingly innovative; it can simply be a value-add or offering that few or none of your nearest competitors offer. When you have identified what you do or could do to differentiate yourselves in your market, consider making this front and centre in your marketing.

Retention and Engagement

Unless your business is focused on something people rarely buy, like cars or houses, it is always easier to sell new things to existing customers than to bring in new business. This is the first reason to focus on engaging with people who have already discovered you and bought from you. The second is that word of mouth can be extremely important when you are operating in a highly competitive market. Think outside of the box here about how you can make your brand a pleasure for your existing and past customers to hear from. Could you offer them something from time to time? Could you have a loyalty scheme? Could you run a really entertaining or informative social media account they will enjoy following?

Authority

Another thing you should be trying to do is establishing your brand (or yourself) as an authority in your field. This can set you apart from other providers and also has the side effect of raising your general profile online, making you easier to find when people are looking for a business in your field. There are all sorts of ways to do this, including blogging or running a YouTube channel about your field, answering questions about it on sites like Quora and LinkedIn, or, offline, getting involved with presenting at industry conferences and seminars. These types of activities should be about raising your profile, not about stealthily advertising to people, so avoid being overly promotional and concentrate on informing people, solving problems, and winning trust and appreciation.

These are just a few things you can think about when it comes to addressing the challenges of standing out in a crowded market.