Why is differentiation so important? With the burgeoning of online searches, the balance of power has shifted and clients are finding you instead of the other way around. In today’s world, success has everything to do with business positioning, visibility and differentiation. You have to be uniquely positioned for customers to find you and you have to make yourself worth finding.
Business consultant, Dave Baker of ReCourses, opened a recent session on marketing issues and business positioning by asking the participants the question, “What differentiates your company from your competitors?” After each participant took some time to think about and write down the answer, Baker instructed them to hand that statement to the person next to them who read it aloud. “Is that any different from what you do?” he asked. The answer was invariably no. He made his point very quickly.
“In reality, most firms are not differentiated at all except by geography”, Baker stated. Be honest. If your competitors sell similar products and services, have customer service departments and delivery options, there really is nothing you can do that they cannot. A common answer to this question is “customer service”. However, every company believes it has superior customer service. Worse, if you are just copying your competitors’ products, why should customers choose you?
How is your product or service different? Is your process more efficient, saving your customer time? Is it cheaper? Does it save the customer a significant amount of money? What do you offer that no other company can? Are you the largest with the most complete services? Are you the most experienced in your field? Do you have a unique, patented product or a specific service that no one else has? Have you designed a new technology that addresses the changes in your business environment?
Are you the industry leader in using environmentally friendly products or processes? Do you service a niche that other companies avoid? Have you found a way to solve a problem that your competitors missed? Find a way to make your business unique and you will stand out from your competitors. Are you jumping on the bandwagon, or driving it? If you are going to succeed in today’s market, you need to be driving the bandwagon.
What differentiates your company from your competitors?