Differentiating Factor for A Tight Competition
Here’s a simple test you can perform: Ask any business owner, any manager, any entrepreneur or any professional why their prospects or customers should buy from them, and you’ll most likely hear something like, “Because we offer the highest quality products, the best service, the fastest delivery and the lowest prices around.”
But really, what do you learn from that kind of statement? That kind of answer does absolutely nothing to compel you to want to know more, or to nearly force you to get out of your chair, pick up the phone and call, or to get in your car and drive to the place of business, or to fill out and mail in a response card.
In fact, just the opposite. You’ve heard this kind of “ho-hum” statement so many times before by countless other businesses, that you no longer pay any attention to such statements.
Competition in business today is so keen, products and services are so similar, and prices are so cutthroat, that it’s difficult, in fact nearly impossible in almost any industry, business or profession, to maintain for any predictable length of time, a competitive advantage because of the products or services a business offers, or the prices they charge.
The simple truth is, that if you can’t give your prospects and customers clear and compelling reasons to do business with you, you can never expect for your business to be any better than any of your competition. And you’ll just be another “me-too” business – at least in the eyes of your customers. And since they’re the one’s with the money, that’s the only place that matters.
To be competitive in the marketplace today, you must differentiate yourself and your business from any and all other options your prospects and customers have to choose from. In effect, you’ve got to stand out not only as the most logical choice for your customers to buy from, but the only choice they have.
That differentiating factor has to be as clear and compelling as FedEx’s, “When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight” was for them. There was no question in the minds of the buying public that when something was so important or urgent that it had to be delivered the next day, that the only one who could get it there was FedEx. Not, not the Post Office, not anyone.
Coming up with your own unique differentiating factor – that one thing that no one else can offer, or that preempts anyone else who markets the same products or services as you, is critical. And when you can articulate it in such a way as to capture a unique position in the minds of your prospects and customers, you will gain a very competitive edge, and your competition won’t stand a chance.
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