Do You Know What Sets Your Business Apart from the Competition?

Most Americans could probably tell me the make, model and year of the car they last purchased without having to think about it very hard, but I’ll bet  only a few could tell me who built the house they live in.

Why is it that we know more about something that cost us fifteen grand than something that cost us one hundred and fifty grand (or more)?  For that matter, I’ll be most coffee drinkers could identify the last $5 coffee they had in detail (for me, a venti, non-fat, no whip, Starbucks cinnamon dolce two and a half pump latte) but I can’t tell you the makers name of the last $50 piece of clothing I purchased.

The answer can be summed up in one very special word (and no, it’s not marketing).  The reason we know more about our last car purchase than our last home purchase is this:  differentiation. Differentiation is what a marketing USP (unique selling proposition) is all about.

Differentiation, real or perceived, is the reason people pay more for brand names over store brands on even everyday products, like toilet paper. Both essentially get the same job done; logic would seem to indicate that shoppers should choose store or generic brands in order to minimize the amount of money spent on such an unglamorous product.  Differentiation is what leads to someone perceiving the brand name toilet paper as softer as and stronger than a store or generic brand.

And back to the point: More of you can probably tell me what brand of $3 toilet paper you purchased last than can tell me who built your $300,000 home.

Differentiation.

When it comes to brands that have not differentiated themselves, labels don’t matter.  We don’t choose homes based on the builder’s brand or reputation (which seems crazy, given the importance of the product); rather, we assume that all of the builders providing product in our local marketplace are more or less the same. Instead of making choices based on the quality of work and reputation of a specific builder, we choose homes based on which we perceive is the best value that meets our needs that we can afford.

Whether the product you sell lists at $3 or $300,000 and lasts for 3 minutes or 30 years, differentiation is the key to growing your business, gaining market share and besting competitors. 

If customers don’t see a real difference in the quality and type of product (or service) you provide, and more or less believe that they can get the same desired outcome from you as from your competitors, you have not succeeded in differentiating your business for one of three reasons:

• Nothing about your business sets it apart from the competition
• Customers don’t know what differentiates your business from competitors
• Customers don’t actually care about the things that differentiate your business from those of your competitors

Unless your business is totally unique, and no other businesses exist that provide the same products, services or customer outcomes as yours, differentiation simply isn’t going to happen by accident. Nor can you expect customers to recognize the ways in which the customer experience, products or services you provide are superior to others in the marketplace by accident.

Unlike other areas of your business, this is one area where you can take control to identify the ways in which your business exceeds that of your competitors and even to create unique customer experiences that help to set you apart from the competition in your market.  And it’s vital to the health, profitability and longevity of your business that you do so, and that you periodically analyze the marketplace to ensure that your competitive advantages continue to set your business apart.

As you seek to discover your USP (or unique selling proposition, also known as a unique value proposition) and begin to analyze possible areas where you can differentiate your business and create both real and perceived differences in the minds of your clients, keep this in mind.  It’s possible to differentiate your business in ways that won’t matter to your customers.  And a difference that doesn’t differentiate simply doesn’t matter.  Focus first on improvements which your customers are most likely to notice and which will matter most to them.

Finding your Marketing USP:  Here is your differentiation homework:

• Make a list of 10 ways in which your business experience, services or products are better or different than those of competitors in your market
• Make sure that you are educating customers and prospects about the most meaningful ways in which your business, services or products – the experiences and/or outcomes enjoyed by your customers – are different and better than those of your competitors
• Make a list of the ways in which your competitors have differentiated their businesses in the minds of customers in your market and think of ways to close the gap, from public education to real process, service or product improvements.

What’s so special about you? 

Feel free to leave a comment below sharing your business’s unique selling propositions or contact me for a Differentiation Consultation where we can begin to identify and develop points of differentiation for your business.

Related articles

• Understanding Your ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ (entrepreneur.com)

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