Have you ever wondered how entrepreneurs manage to not only survive but to make a name for themselves on a market filled with already established brands, that seems too suffocated to even consider embracing new additions? They are not unicorns, they are real people. And they must be doing something right.
Trying to enter in the entrepreneurial world can be overwhelming and you can even encounter some setbacks, but like everything else, it's harder than it seems. Every online entrepreneur has passed through the same struggles as you, but some of them may have had to find out some things the hard way.
One crucial factor in any business is how you think about your customers, so having the right attitude towards them will make the difference.
Changing the general perception about customers
Starting an online business is a scary thing, however, by mastering a few tricks you'll be good to go. But first things first. You need to ask yourself one question: What makes customers choose a brand or another? Then another one: What will make people choose my online course over another?
To find your answers you have to put yourself in your customer's shoes, feel what they feel, think how they think. It's the only aspect that really counts and makes them feel like they count. Customers want to be understood. They need solutions to their problems and sometimes they even need you to show them they have a problem in the first place present them with your solution.
Customers decide what is more suitable for their specific needs and choose from the multitude of possibilities they find on the market. They don't need you to tell them you're better than the rest. In fact, this could backfire as it seems presumptuous. They are more than capable of making their own decisions and you questioning their judgement is not advisable. What you can do, though, is show them how you are different from what they’ve encountered so far and present them with a succinct list of real benefits your online course has in store for them.
Changing your perception about your audience is an extremely important aspect of doing business nowadays, which is how you position yourself among your competition. Read more to see how you can find a place of your own on as an online entrepreneur.
3 Steps to take to position yourself among your competition
The entrepreneurial journey is not an easy one, but it does begin with a single step. Then you have to follow with one more, and then one more, and so on. Here are the first three steps available to any online entrepreneur who wants to determine their exact spot in the realm of online businesses. Let’s explore them one by one:
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Determine your current status as an entrepreneur
To be able to know where you want to go you need to first have a clear picture of where you stand right now and what type of entrepreneur you want to become. You may choose to be the expert type, the one who focuses on a specific product and strives to be a specialist in one area of expertise. However, you may want to have the all-in-one type of business, giving your audience everything they need from top to bottom. Find more on the types of entrepreneurs here.
This choice depends on your targeted audience, whether they need: a. something specific, focused on detail, offered by an entrepreneur prepared for this job only or, the opposite, b. a business offering all types of products and services, eliminating the need to reach to other entrepreneurs to solve their problems.
Whatever you choose to be, try to be different, to stand out, to put your unique fingerprint on what you do. Things are easier when you offer something completely new, but when the product or service you put on the market already exists in a form or another, you need to show your audience what you have to offer that others don't and also why your own way of doing the same thing or providing the same product is better.
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Define your target audience
Without customers there wouldn't be a market or a business in the first place, thus the justification for a product falls flat. In every business equation your audience cannot be the unknown element.
After determining who you are in the business field and the type of online course you want to provide, you have to target a specific audience that would probably respond to what you have to offer.
To make sure you stand a chance in the business jungle, you have to figure out what people want and try to choose a segment of them to address. For instance, you can target your audience according to their demographics (gender, age, education, employment status, etc) or their level (beginner, intermediate, advanced).
Defining your potential customers from all the people which are in search of a product, will increase your click-through-rate and your chances of ranking on search engines, since you address to a specific category of people as opposed to other brands having a general approach.
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Differentiate your storyline
If you don't let your audience know where the core idea of your online course came from, what's the story behind it, what your struggles along the way were, you won't be able to connect with your audience, and thus the results you expect will fade away. Don't forget that you are addressing human beings who despite the fast pace and materialistic way of life resonate best to real stories.
This happens due to the continuous quest for empathy, acceptance and a sense of belonging. When your customers sympathies with you and with your course’s journey, they feel you belong to the same community and when your course actually gives them exactly what they need, they feel acknowledged in a world too busy to consider the human factor in any transaction.
You may not have a new online course on the market, but by creating the right story for it, you will guarantee yourself and your course a place among your competitors.
Summing it all up
Your competition is what already exists on the market. They have products known to the public and an audience of their own. Trying to make a name for yourself on the market can be daunting, but remember the three stps and you'll mark your own place in the business world. Consider the human factor of this process. Taking your audience into account is essential as their choices influence your growth and they pave your way to success.
