There’s perhaps no other activity in the life of a business that’s more impactful than setting your company apart from the competition. Success in this area can lead to a genuine connection with your customers and a thriving place in the global marketplace. Failure can drag down even the most promising ideas and plans. But how do you set your company apart? To answer this, we’ve turned to the work of David Schmidt, the CEO and founder of LifeWave, a leading health and wellness company. A look at his professional endeavors provides a prime example of how to set a business apart in the competitive modern economy.
Strong Expertise
One of the most important things you can do to develop a quality business that will rise above its competition is gain a depth of experience in your chosen field.
As an inquisitive individual throughout his life, Schmidt first understood that innovation was his calling after visiting the Thomas Edison Museum as a child. Struck by how Edison produced inventions for the betterment of all humankind, the future inventor began imagining a career in which he too could create products that would have a real-world impact. That drive led him to study management information systems and biology at Pace University.
After his formal education, the inventor embarked on a more than 30-year career of innovation across a wide spectrum of fields. This included work on a unique combustion rocket engine and the development of new processes for synthesizing periodic elements. Along the way, he accrued almost 100 patents, more than 70 of which are in the field of regenerative science technology. As a result of this work, the CEO has received considerable recognition, including an honorary doctorate from the International Hall of Fame of Inventors.
Compelling Product
The level of expertise showcased by Schmidt is a key ingredient for the next component of setting your company apart: developing a compelling product. It may go without saying, but without a quality product, a company is likely destined for obscurity, and expertise can lead to quality products.
Here again, we can look at the example set by the inventor and his work at LifeWave for additional context in this area. After many years of research and development on behalf of a range of companies, the future CEO became interested in the benefits of the directed use of phototherapy. Through his work, he gained an appreciation for the rich history of these therapies, which stretches back thousands of years. He also become well acquainted with the scientific research supporting the modern use of light in a therapeutic setting to treat disorders such as depression and jaundice.
The result of this work was the creation of his company’s patented phototherapy patches. The patches, which are applied topically to a user’s skin, work by reflecting specific wavelengths of light back into the user’s body. Depending on the placement and design of the particular patch, the technology has been shown to have a wide range of positive health and wellness effects. These include minor pain reduction, energy stimulation and the support of wound healing. The patch’s effectiveness has been confirmed in a range of clinical trials and research studies and has also been shown to be effective in a real-world setting, as evidenced by quite pursuasive testimonials and increased sales globally.
Creative Marketing
While the creation of an effective product is an important part of building a successful business, there are, of course, other considerations to pay attention to. Perhaps chief among these is a business’ ability to market its products or services. Marketing, at its core, is nothing more than informing the public of the existence of a product and showcasing its features. Without some form of marketing, potential customers would be unaware of a product’s existence and unable to make a purchase. While this truth seems straightforward enough, it does present the problem of how exactly to market a new product or business, especially if funds are tight for some.
There are many ways to solve this problem, but it’s safe to say that creativity in a marketing approach can be key to success. In the case of LifeWave, the CEO was confident in his product and its ability to achieve real results, but in the beginning, he needed to bring those results to the attention of a wider audience. To do this, he partnered with the Stanford University women’s swim team, a high-profile team that was aiming for a spot in the Olympics. He distributed the company’s energy enhancer patch to the team, which promptly saw the majority of its members achieve personal records while using the patches. After the team brought the patches to its Olympic trials, it gained national attention, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Continued Innovation
The global market is full of companies that have single successes to their names. Now, that’s nothing to scoff at, since even one success can be hard won, but if a company truly wants to rise above its competition, it pays to innovate continually and bring customers more offerings to better their lives.
Such has been the strategy at LifeWave, which recently released its new, patented X39 patch. The patch takes the company’s phototherapy technology and focuses its power toward the activation of stem cells. Patch users have gained a range of health and wellness benefits, including improved skin appearance, enhanced quality of sleep, and less fatigue. The power of this continued innovation has helped further cement the company as a leader in its field and a prime example of how to succeed in the long term.
The global marketplace is competitive, and rising above one’s competition is a difficult thing to manage. That’s why it can be important to look to those who have accomplished the feat to find wisdom that can apply to your own work. The work conducted by David Schmidt as CEO of LifeWave makes for an excellent example.