Every brand must differentiate in order to compete. Even in an industry with many cookie cutter businesses, you need a clear competitive advantage.
The goal is to position you as the clear choice among other competitors. Un-differentiated marketing means using the same message for everyone.
That’s a mass marketing shotgun approach. And it’s even less effective when your competitors are all saying the same things: “We’re experts, we’re qualified, we’re the best… your market has heard it all before.”
Differentiators Come in Different Types to Reflect that Different Kinds of Prospective Clients are Differently Motivated.
Differentiators Can Include Specific Differences in:
- Client Experience
- Service or Product Features – Quality for the Price
- Technology or Process – Availability or Time Savings
- And there are a number of others
Most of Us Are too Close to Our Own Businesses to Create Effective Differentiators.
They come out as:
- Corporate Rhetoric (that doesn’t convert anyone).
- Light Weight Fluff (about truly caring and truly putting the customer first – things everyone has heard before)
- Or it’s All About Us (our attitudes, qualifications – not about the prospective client at all)
Really effective differentiators are:
- Specific or Tangible (not fluff or fluffy)
- Appeal to Prospective Client Goals (they’re not about us, our qualfifications, or our
expertise) - And they’re Truly Different (not things that everyone else says too)
From your best differentiators, you want to make the most use of those that:
- position you most competitively – are the hardest to duplicate or earn you a reputation for being first to set that bar for your industry
- and are re-usable in various forms or formats for your marketing
Getting creative with your differentiators can require an adjustment:
- to your business process – or to client interactions
But the competitive advantage can be huge.
The most effective way to craft your market differentiators is with a savvy marketing strategist. You brainstorm together, and rate the results, to select the best options.
