Firstly, get Chesney Hawkes out of your head – This post has nothing to do with cheesy 90′s pop songs, but an important point that you need to understand in your business.
In order to be successful in your business, you need to differentiate what you’re doing with everyone else in your industry. Not only have you got to do that, you’ve got to be seen to do it and you’ve got to be able to communicate that message clearly and concisely with your prospects and customers in all of your marketing.
If you fail to think this through and fail to communicate that message, then you become a commodity – Your only difference between you and your competitors is that of price, you then end up in a price war driving down the price further and further until there is no profit in the product or service and one of you goes out of business.
So, let me ask you a question.
What’s different about your business and offering that should make me want to do business with you over and above your competitors?
I’d be really interested to hear some answers – Post them in a comment below.
Now, if you’re answering this questions with the likes of “We offer better service” or “We’re the most professional” then I’m sorry, but that’s a cop out. You need to be thinking about some real tangible answers to your offering to make you stand out and make you unique.
You’ve then got to be constantly reviewing what you do and improving and adding to your business. You’ll have innovations that will become the norm in your industry and you’ll have people copying your ideas. So you’ll need to stay in front of them. But you’ll always be able to say that you were the first!
Here’s an example of how we differentiate.
When we set up the business in 2009, we were the only leaflet delivery company in Milton Keynes that offered GPS tracking and an absolute guarantee on our service.
Now, GPS tracking has become the norm in the industry and any leaflet company not offering it should be avoided. There’s no reason not to have it. So, we’ve added to our offering and here’s our differentiation statement.
- We were the first leaflet delivery company in Milton Keynes to offer GPS Tracking and
We are the ONLY leaflet delivery company in Milton Keynes who…
- Are approved by Trading Standards to reliably deliver your leaflets
- Are members of the national industry standards body, The Leaflet Distribution Organisation
- Provide you with the strongest DOUBLE YOUR MONEY BACK GUARANTEE that if we don’t deliver your leaflets to the agreed delivery plan, not only will we give you double your money back on any leaflets delivered outside of the plan, but we’ll reprint them and deliver them for free AND we’ll donate £50 to a charity of your choice.
It is likely that in 6-9 months, these statements may not be valid. We may not be able to use “Only” but we’ll always be “The First” and we’ll always be able to show that we are the innovators in our field that others take note of and follow.
Also, watch this space for some other exciting innovations that are being tested as we speak and will be announcing some more “Only’s” soon.
Holiday Hut is;
The only travel company that is a member of the Central Bedfordshire Council Trading Standards Approved Scheme.
The only travel agent that gives 100% impartial travel advice, this means that you don’t have to book with us and you don’t miss out on internet deals
You get advice on things that are not covered by the brochure, such as restaurants, sightseeing, public transport. Do you have a food allergy? No problem we will find you somewhere to eat safely, and supply a letter in the local language that explains your needs. Is your child a fussy eater? You will get a list of places to eat that are ready to cater for your child’s needs.
Holiday Hut, because holidays are too short to waste.
Nice one Trev for enlighting the business people of MK, although I can’t remember the song!
I completely agree and I think Holiday Hut has demonstrated just that in their blog response. I wasn’t aware of them but am now and their individual approach is very compelling. Nice going John.
At Heritage Hunters we research both family trees and business histories for special occasions offering unique bespoke gifts for individuals and for companies.
As a result of the blog I will give more thought to our distinctive attributes because, like Holiday Hut, the outcome for every customer is different and depending on where the trail takes us we don’t just undertake desk research. Our background as journalists gives us additional routes for enquiry, enables us to conduct probing interviews to get at the facts and the human interest stories which bring the past to life. The resulting “tree” is so much more than names and dates.