How to Market in a Saturated Industry

Every time you look up, there is another business being started, and it’s the same as yours. You’re trying to stay confident and not worry about it, because everyone serves a different audience, even if they sell the same thing. However, it makes you think, can you really keep running your business if everyone does the same thing as you?

And the answer is HELL YEAH! If everyone is selling the same thing as you, that means there is money in that industry, and it’s time for you to get some!

Of course, it’ll come with challenges because everyone sells the same thing, but once your branding and marketing are on point, you won’t have any issues raking in the funds of being in a saturated industry.

As a business coach, my niche is working with product-based businesses that run common businesses like clothing boutiques, skincare brands, and jewelry companies. I teach them how to stand out in a saturated industry, and I’m going to give you tips on how to do the same.

Niche down!

And I know everyone always says that, but it’s true. Just because everyone sells clothing doesn’t mean it’s the same clothing that you sell. You may sell graphic tees for comic fans, while someone sells tees for anime fans. Similar audiences, but it still differs enough for you to make a livable wage.

When starting your business, really think about who you want to serve and focus on marketing to them. Finding your target audience takes a little bit of research, but it has a huge pay-off.

When you’re thinking about your target audience, focus on more than just gender and age. You want to know them as well as you know your best friend. You need to know their hobbies, interests, what degree they have, what college they went to, if they were in a sorority or frat, do they have kids, are they a single parent, ALLLL of this is going to help you figure out who you want to market to and how you’re going to market to them.

Once you figure out who they are as a person, you will know how to make content that they will relate to, which means you will have no problem standing out in your industry.

You’re you!

Even if you sell the same thing to the same people as another business owner, there is no one like you. Your personality is unique and cannot be replicated, which means people will naturally gravitate toward you because of who you are.

When you are working on branding your business, including your personality in your branding strategy is a genius marketing move because personality sells, not professionalism (depending on your business). But for me, as a business coach, I want people to see me as relatable and approachable, so I make sure my personality is always at the forefront when creating content and writing blog posts.

Besides your personality, your creativity will be different. How you market, showcase your product, and talk to your audience will be different from anyone else's, and you want to hone in on that. You might like promoting your products through videos, while someone else might prefer only showing pictures.

Some people may only be promoting their business on Twitter, while you’re promoting on Instagram. There’s always going to be something that you’re going to be doing differently when it comes to your business, which means you will always be reaching a different audience than your competitors.

When you are asked what makes your business different from other people’s, the easy answer is saying “you” because no one can run a business like you. That’s your special sauce, that’s your gift. That’s how you’re going to sell and stand out in a popular industry.

There’s always a gap in the market.

Even if there are a thousand clay earring shops on Etsy, there is always going to be someone looking for more. They want more colors, smaller earrings, earrings that look like food, hypoallergenic materials, or they want to support a woman-owned business or queer-owned business. Whatever it is, people are never satisfied! Because we are never satisfied and always looking for something better and greater, people will be looking for you.

If someone has a bad experience with one lash company, that doesn’t mean they’re going to stop buying lashes completely. It just means they’re going to stop buying lashes from that particular business. Now you insert your business to get that sale.

Looking at how many big clothing brands there are in the world today. Forever 21, Old Navy, Macy’s, Torrid. They all sell the same thing, but to different people from different backgrounds who are looking for different things.

Of course, they have overlap, but their audiences are different groups of people who were frustrated with the current representation of fashion, so they took it upon themselves to create something different.

Those three stores all have plus-size sections, but Torrid stands out amongst competitors because it is solely for plus-size bodies.

These three stores sell jeans and tees, but Forever 21 stands out amongst competitors because of the streetwear options they provide at a low price.

So see, it doesn’t matter if everyone sells clothing; it’s all about researching your competitors and picking up where they are lacking.

So let’s recap…….

Just because you sell the same thing as someone else doesn’t mean you guys have the same target audience. Once you figure out exactly who you want to sell to, standing out in your industry is going to become easier.

You’re you, baby! No one can ever take that away from you, and you'd better not let them take it away from you. Highlight your differences and watch your success skyrocket. You never know who is looking to support a person just like you.

There’s always a dissatisfied customer out there who is looking for exactly what you sell. Go find them, market to them, and get them as customers. (Hint: go to your big competitors' comments on social media, and you will find said customer. Convince them to come to the winning side, aka your business.

Remember, if you create your own lane in running your business, you’ll stand out like the industry boss you are.