How to Separate Your Products From Your Competitors - Even If They Are Exactly The Same

Let's face it; the majority of products being sold on the market compete with other products that are very similar or even identical, except for perhaps a color or logo change. So, if your product is having trouble competing based on price, features or benefits, then take it a step further. Use your audience's emotional side to help them identify with your company and its products.

It's hard to compete when your competitors are all using the same selling points as you. But the difference will be that your competitors are most likely ending the sell there, while you'll soon have all the information you need to take your promotions to the next level. Here's how:

Get customers to visualize your product - Now, this goes beyond photographs or videos, it happens by using descriptive text so engaging that your readers cant help but picture your product in their head. Instead of saying "Handmade nut cluster chocolates", try "Smooth ribbons of rich milk chocolate drizzled over chunks of honey-glazed almonds." The trick is to tap into the reader's emotions - whether that's excitement, fear, nostalgia, etc. Once you have triggered that emotion in your reader, you have then succeeded in bringing them on a personal level with your product.

Talk about your company - One of the biggest reasons that website visitors leave a site is because they are unsure if the website is safe. Give your potential customers reassurance by giving them details about your company and as much contact information as possible. The goal here is to make your visitors feel safe and secure. With identity theft running rampant, website customers want to be certain that they are buying from a real company and not some front for an underground scam.

Let past customers do the selling - It's no secret that those online testimonials can many times make or break a sale. If you don't have any unsolicited testimonials from customers, then you can use a marketing email to reach past customers with a quick survey and comments section - perhaps offering them a store gift certificate for filling it out. If you are a merchant with Yahoo! shopping, then check your ratings - there's a good chance that past customers wrote a store review for you. You can also elaborate for a paragraph or two about each customer's experience, and then use their actual quote somewhere in the middle. That will make even a short one-sentence quote seem bigger and more convincing.

The best thing about using these tactics to stay ahead of the competition is that most retailers never use this type of selling, or at least they don't use it effectively. The key is in knowing your target market and how to reach them. You can try experimenting with different approaches to see which one your customers really respond to most. So don't let the fact that your product isn't proprietary, new or unique get in the way of your company staying on top of the competition. Good luck!