9 Tips on How to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace

The Amex CEO Bootcamp had some smart women sharing their knowledge and expertise. One discussion I attended was made up of a group of media, branding, and investment experts talking about how to stand out from competitors and successfully promote your brand.  Here are some points that stuck with me from the discussion.

9 Tips on Standing Out in a Crowded Marketplace

• Brands with a social mission- if you lead with that social mission, it will help you to make a few sales with a consumer, but it rarely creates a long time customer
• The most successful companies are those that have a built-in story; not a story that a PR agency helps you concoct, but a real and true story that you honestly share.
• Even if you have an online business, you need to be meeting your customers in the real world, face to face.
• Never think you’re building a company, remember you’re building a brand. And make decisions accordingly.
• When thinking about expansion, think about the people within your company, even more than externally. Meaning, you can’t effectively expand without the right team in place.
• Further note about expansion is that it can’t happen unless you listen to what the customer wants.

[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]If you want money, ask for advice. If you want advice, ask for money. [/box]

• On partnerships- the key is often having the same vision and values but different skill sets.
• More on partnerships- think of each other as a sounding board. If you disagree about something, think about why. Perhaps you’re missing something that the other person sees.