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We are now halfway through the 12 Sales & Marketing Strategies for Improved Sales & Marketing Results. To review the entire list, click here . How are you different from your competition? Do you think your prospects and customers could tell someone how your product or service is better than the competition's? If not, you need to do a better job of educating them. Otherwise it will be too easy for them to jump ship from you to some other company. This is a common dilemma so many companies face and it can be easy to ignore - especially if you are in a fiercely competitive industry. For instance, if you are an accounting firm, how do you differentiate yourself from the thousands of other accountants that are in every city? What is your message to your prospects that convinces them to consider you for their accounting needs? You must differentiate yourself somehow and then let your prospects know about it, and continue to reinforce the message once they are your clients. Here are some typical areas of differentiation: Level of Service - Are you a full service firm or do you provide the bare minimum for budget conscious customers? There is a real estate service in our city that gives basic service - MLM listings, a yard sign and contracts for a small flat fee instead of the realtors who command large commissions and offer more extensive marketing of properties. Do you promise a 12 hour turnaround on your service? Pricing - While pricing should not be a selling point, some industries are notorious for having "low price leaders." Unless you own a used car lot, grocery store or certain level of jewelry shop (you know the ones I'm referring to here!) you should not use low price as a selling point. There is always someone who can come into the market and figure out how to undercut you on price. Sell on the value and knowledge you bring to your clients. Areas of Expertise - Let's return to the example of an accounting firm. Do you specialize in working within a certain industry or company size? Do you have a department devoted to audits? Do you provide bookkeeping services AND have a tax attorney on staff? What makes you different from the accounting firm across the street? Technology - Is your company always on the cutting edge of technology? That is a competitive edge and a reason that some people will do business with you! For example, at this point in time, there is a 'new' file format called BIM (Building Information Modeling) that is beginning to permeate the construction, architecture and engineering industries. The firms that are using this format are eager to tell their clients and vendors that they are working with this new file format. Some are refusing to work with vendors who are not using BIM files. At this point, it's a differentiation. I expect at some point it will be an industry standard.
What other areas can you name to separate yourself from the pack? If you can point to something that is really unique about your business, it can become what you're known for and drive more new customers your way. |