6 Ways to Stand Out Next to Giant Competitors in DTC
- mrpapri1
- Mar 12
- 8 min read
So, you’re managing your online shop, and you wonder… How many competitors do I have?
Browsing the internet for rivals, you say: “Gosh darnit…” There are already tens of them that make me look tiny.
How do you stand out? Because if you don’t, you’ll stay small, but if you pull it off, you’ll be on par with these giant brands (and sometimes even grow past them).
In this article, we’ll discuss the best strategies to get a competitive advantage even if your business rivals are big.
My name is Philip, and I’ve been helping DTC businesses stand out even if their competitors are 10x, 100x, or even 10,000x their size. I’ve been doing this for over a year, and I've turned a website's traffic from 243 to 648 in seven days.
Key Takeaways
Stand Out to Compete: Differentiating your brand is crucial for gaining customers and competing with larger companies.
Benefits of Brand Differentiation:
Builds loyal customers who advocate for your brand.
Increases market share and memorability and allows for higher pricing.
Steps to Differentiate:
Competitor Research: Identify market gaps by analyzing competitors.
Pricing Strategy: Use undercutting or penetrative pricing to gain market share.
Unique Messaging: Create a distinct brand voice and position using opposites of competitors' traits.
Leverage Reviews: Use competitor reviews (both positive and negative) to highlight your unique strengths and address weaknesses.
Focused Marketing: Master a specific platform where competitors are weak to create a strong presence.
Provide Value: Put customer needs first to build trust and loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases.
What are the benefits of brand differentiation?
There's a whole array of benefits with differentiation.
If you are unique, it's easier to get loyal customers. You can gain more market share next to giant competitors. Your brand can become more memorable, marketing can get oh-so easy, and most importantly, you can a flood of incoming traffic and sales.
Who doesn't want that, am I right?
Loyal customers
When you've got a unique brand, you can create that admirer-like audience. You know, the one that Eminem or other famous singers have. Those kinds of fans would do anything.
And there's a very high chance they will become repeat customers.
They will actively advocate for your brand (post 5-star reviews). And generally, bring more people in with word-of-mouth marketing.
More market share next to bigger, better competitors
You most definitely know that feeling of "I'm tiny" when comparing yourself to other brands. And when you're not recognized (yet), it's very easy to become frustrated.
Like, how do you become attention-grabbing? It seems like everything you do is overshadowed by these companies.
Well, luckily for you, there are 6 ways to snatch that well-deserved market share.
Brand memorability
By nature, our brains are wired in a way that makes things stand out and be memorable. When something bright pops up, it goes straight into our memory.
That's how it has always been and will always be. ("unforgettable" and "stand out" are related words)
Similarly, when your brand is unique, people will naturally remember it more. And when you have your company sitting around in people's memories, it will attract more word-of-mouth marketing.
Shh, there's a way to be even more memorable with storytelling.
Easy to market
This one is obvious. When something is unconventional, it already catches customers' eyes even without hardcore marketing campaigns.
So if you think your marketing is too generic and blends in with your other competitors, applying these 6 principles will allow you to create campaigns that drive results, and ultimately to turn it from a guessing game to knowing exactly what you want to do and how.
Command a higher price point
If you're unique, no one else is doing what you're doing. This makes you appear as if you're the only good brand identity, meaning you can dictate higher prices without experiencing any dips in sales.
Competitor research and creating a gap
Let's talk about the elephant in the room... Researching is necessary if you want to find the "gap".
The gap determines whether your brand will come across as different from all the other giant conglomerates.
It's close to impossible to differentiate your brand without finding out your "gap".
According to AI Marketing Engineers, companies that conduct competitor analysis are likely to grow 20% faster than those that do not.
So buckle up, grab a paper notebook (or a digital one), and bring up about 10 websites of your opponents. Indirect and direct competitors, everything. Now, write down:
their prices
offers
claims
what’s unique about them
their bad reviews
their good reviews
social media comments
Cool, so now you’ve got every detail of your rivals. Like when do they go to sleep? Which restaurants do they go to? When will they leave for vacation?
Please don't take it that far, of course.
Now that you have this data, it’s time to figure out how you can create a gap.
I. Standing out with offers
Take a close look at their claims. Are they exaggerating? Are they underpromising?
If they claim that, for example, "Our flowerpot will make watering infinitely easier", you could make a gap. Either you could exaggerate it even more, or you could underpromise. You could be humble. If that's what it takes.
Here's the thing:
If being humble is what it takes to become one of a kind, so be it. At the end of the day, you'll earn your customers' hearts.
II. The "BE DIFFERENT" strategy
What's the thing that is truly unique about your rivals? What do they have a knack for?
For this next part, take note of their:
design
brand voice
unique selling proposition
their overall vibe
Write about 5-10 adjectives about each of these things for each competitor. Yes, it might be time-consuming, and I strongly recommend using AI for this, but trust me... It's worth it.
At the end of this, you'll have an entire document of adjectives ranging from 50 to 200. Now what?
Take the mess full of hundreds of words and create an antonym for each one. Now, tada, in front of you is the blueprint to you can emphasize your unique selling proposition (USP) even if your competitor is a company 1000x larger than you.
So simple yet so effective.
What's a unique selling proposition (USP)?
A USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is what makes your business, product, or service stand out from competitors. It’s the one key thing that makes you different and persuades customers to choose you over others.
Shhh... Are you sure your copywriting isn't costing you sales?
Find out if your copywriting is leaving money on the table.
III. Standing out using prices
Once you've got your competitors' prices, you can begin derailing them off the market. And how exactly?
Undercutting prices + upselling
As the heading suggests, it's pretty obvious what you're supposed to do. Bring up that document of your competitors again (the one I mentioned at the beginning), take a close look at their prices, and see how you could undercut them.
And of course, you could even jack up your prices higher than them and emphasize what additional value you offer, but I recommend undercutting rather than jacking prices (mainly because budget is one of the most frequent objections).
Also, there's a way to undercut prices without actually losing money.
So, say your competitor is selling flower pots. They're selling them at $7.50 a piece.
You can go ahead and sell them at $6.70 and steal a part of their sales.
And as I mentioned, there is a way to undercut prices without actually undercutting prices. Sell them that $6.70 flowerpot, but get their email. Later on, you will upsell this person and convince them to buy an even more expensive product from you (because they trust you just from the fact that they have bought from you).
This is crazy:
So, even if they did a little of flower pot research and compared you with your competition, they will think they got a good deal.
Little do they know that you're going to upsell them later on with email marketing. (and a large portion will buy)
The key takeaway? You undercutted your price, boosted sales, and got your money back.
Penetrative pricing strategy (for new businesses)
So what does penetrative mean?
It means lowering prices below that of competitors, attracting customers and getting market share, and then...
Jacking them up to the original values. So you're essentially only lowering your prices temporarily (or rather, until you gain recognition).
For instance, OnePlus successfully gained market share in the smartphone industry by offering high-quality devices at lower prices than established brands like Apple and Samsung.
IV. Standing out using competitors' reviews
So there's a way to use your competitors reviews, and use it against them (in an ethical way, of course).
It's possible to use both five star and one star reviews as a tool to be an industry leader.
Using competitor five-star reviews
You can use these reviews to go great lengths on doing competitor research (like we talked about). And believe it or not, the more research information you acquire, the more effective your "gap" will be.
You'll have even more angles to stand out from.
Using competitor one-star reviews
Use one-star reviews to either directly steal their customers or to compare with them when your customers are ready to buy a product from you.
When your customers are about to make a purchase, you could make the buying process even more easier by emphasizing that Competitor A or Competitor B has flower pots that can break easily.
V. Standing out using marketing channels
Most brands make the mistake of: “Let’s market everywhere! Instagram, Facebook, SEO, Emails, Blogs, and more!”
Little do they know (even if they’re performing well) that they’re not reaching their potential if they diversify too much. This is where you can truly play your part. By honing in on one marketing channel.
Are your rivals terrible at Instagram? Good.
Are they terrible at Facebook? Good.
Now, start with:
Start focusing on those platforms fully. By having fewer marketing channels to worry about, you’re essentially doing what’s called a quality-over-quantity strategy. You’ll master what your industry players are terrible at, making them look unprofessional. And what’s good about this is once you master these platforms, you can go and diversify further.
According to Hubspot, by leveraging channels where competitors are less effective, businesses can create a unique market presence.
VI. Standing out by providing value
Provide value? What does this mean?
It means putting customers' needs before the businesses' needs.
Providing customers with the most value gives them this feeling of indebtedness. Many times, it will make these customers feel so indebted, it makes them feel uneasy. So, to balance this feeling? They purchase from you.
Do you think it’s ineffective? Giving has saved the world from World War III before.
On October 22, 1962, Cold War tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union reached a breaking point. In a televised address, President John F. Kennedy revealed that Russian nuclear missiles had been secretly placed in Cuba—aimed at the U.S.
Kennedy demanded Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev remove them, enforcing a naval blockade to stop further shipments. Khrushchev called it "piracy" and warned that any interference could spark a nuclear war, potentially wiping out a third of humanity.
For thirteen nerve-wracking days, the world watched as the two superpowers faced off. The story goes that Khrushchev blinked first, backing down to Kennedy’s firm stance.
But declassified records tell a different story. Kennedy secretly agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey and Italy in exchange for Soviet withdrawal from Cuba. To protect his public image, he insisted the deal remain secret—preserving the illusion of an American victory.
Source: Robert Cialdini
But wait a second...
Are you willing to make your DTC business stand out using my unique process?
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you differentiate your brand from competitors?
Conduct competitor research, take note of their prices, offers, and uniqueness, and create a gap by becoming the complete opposite of who they are.
How does competitor research help in brand differentiation?
Competitor research is crucial in brand differentiation because you get to know who you're competing with. Along with knowing how to create a tailored strategy to stand out.
What are the best pricing strategies to compete with bigger brands?
Undercut their prices temporarily, and when you've got market share, jack them up to original values.
How do you use competitor reviews for business growth?
Reviews provide valuable insights on how the other competitor operates. Use their bad reviews to emphasize why you're better, and use their good reviews to find out what you're doing wrong.
How to create a unique selling proposition for your business?
By using the "BE DIFFERENT" strategy. Write 5-10 adjectives about their design, brand voice, and overall vibe, and create antonyms to these words.
Boom, you've got a unique selling proposition.
