1. Avoid the race to the bottom.
Competing on price also can have a secondary (and often unintentional) negative impact. When your marketing efforts are built solely on cost, people forget or stop caring about what makes your company awesome. You give them no reason to believe your products or services are worth a higher price.
2. Act more like a caregiver and less like a used-car salesperson.
Focus on demonstrating value beyond price. Give people what they really want versus what you want them to want.
Offering customers something of high perceived value allows you to make your brand promise -- not price -- the primary selling point. How does this look in real life? Provide exceptional customer service, create personalized experiences, offer concierge services or give your best customers early access to new products, sales or services.
3. Start and cultivate as many relationships as you can handle.
During this past holiday season, 55 percent of shoppers said rewards programs would affect their shopping decisions. The rise of comparison shopping makes it easier than ever for consumers to jump from one brand to the next, in little to no time.
While consumers will appreciate your role as their shopping “caregiver,” you shouldn't stop there. Get to know your customers. Ask them to download your app or opt in to your email list and mobile or desktop notification program. See if they're open to receiving old-school mailings, too, because direct marketing still works.
Courtesy of Entrepreneur
