“Leapfrogging” your competition can put your practice on the road to success. It might seem challenging in a highly competitive environment in which the products you sell and the services you provide have been commoditized. Your peers are flogging the same fare.

“But therein also lies the opportunity to jump ahead of your competition,” says Nadira Lawrence-Selan, communications and public relations consultant with Hathleigh Consulting in Woodbridge, Ont. “Your peers are most likely travelling the same road day after day. So, you’ll have to find ways to differentiate yourself and take another road.”

Differentiating your business will take significant planning and commitment, Lawrence-Selan says. “But at the end of the day, it can be very rewarding.”

Here are five ways to leapfrog your competition:

1. Analyze your competition
Conduct a detailed review of the competitive landscape, says George Hartman, CEO and co-founder of Elite Advisors Canada in Toronto. “Make a list of your competitive advantages and disadvantages,” Hartman says, “and determine the unique characteristics you have.”

Then, determine whether you can leverage your competitive advantages or take advantage of your competitors’ weaknesses.

Also, assess what you have done well in the past, as well as the mistakes you have made, adds Lawrence-Selan: “Can you duplicate your past successes? What did you learn from your mistakes? The answers can give you an opportunity to develop unique strategies to leapfrog your competition.”

2. Get input from your clients
Your clients are the best source of information about what you do well. “Ask them why they do business with you and what can you do better,” Hartman says.

For example, a client might say, “I like the fact that you’re always available” or “I like the fact that you’re flexible.” Use their input to help you develop your plan to overtake your competition.

3. Revise your value proposition
Review your existing value proposition and revise it to incorporate the unique differentiating factors you have identified.

For example, you may wish to differentiate yourself on fees, service and flexibility.

“Make sure your value proposition is unique, not just boilerplate,” says Lawrence-Selan. “Otherwise, you would not be seen as different from your competitors.”

4. Establish a plan
Put together a comprehensive and realistic plan made up of strategies and tactics to help you differentiate yourself from your competition. Your plan might include a communications strategy to show what separates you from your competition.

For example, Hartman says, you would not say you’re “better” than a bank, but you might wish to promote the fact that you’re “more flexible.”

Once you have established a plan, Lawrence-Selan says, you must stick to it diligently.

5. Create a buzz
“Promote yourself to a target group,” Hartman says.

Be entrepreneurial about creating a buzz about the “new you,” Lawrence-Selan adds.
Use all available media, including social media, to build your new brand and promote your new value proposition.