Differentiating Your Business is Paramount to Success
Differentiating a business is not something you go out and buy off the shelf and plug into your company. Differentiating is something you have to strategically identify, develop, refine and promote. The best place to start is looking when differentiating is at your competition. What is it you offer that none of those other companies does? What is it about your business that makes you stand above the rest in the eyes of your customers?
Whatever THAT thing is, you need to hang your hat on it and shout it from the rooftops. That is your differentiation! This discernable difference or characteristic between you and the other vendors in your space is what will convince clients to choose you over them. Business is no place for modesty.
Here is a quick test to assess if you know how to differentiate and just how differentiating you really are:
1. Visit the websites of your top 3 competitors
2. Read their intro copy on their home page
3. Read your intro copy on your home page
4. Ask yourself if any of the four companies (yours included) really stand out from the others
If you are lucky enough to be able to say that your business is in fact differentiating, then congratulations! You are in fact communicating differentiation. For those of you that aren't so lucky, please consult a professional who knows how to differentiate.
The Power of Business Positioning!
Rules of Business Positioning
1. Differentiating is a business imperative today, not only in terms of a company's success, but also for its continuing survival.
2. Truly understanding how and why you and your business are better (more Differentiating) than the competitions' is essential to true business success.
3. Succinctly and effectively communicating your value proposition to customers and substantiating your claims (while differentiating yourself) will drive your business.
The often-used phrases such as "…saving time and money…" are no longer enough to attract a potential buyer. Today's effective salesperson must offer compelling claims and proof to substantiate them.
Differentiating in the context of business is what a company can hang its hat on that no other business can. For example, for some companies this is being the least expensive. Other companies credit themselves with being the first or the fastest.
Whatever it is a business can use to stand out from the rest is called its differentiating claims. Differentiating a business in today's over-crowded marketplace is a business imperative, not only in terms of a company's success, but also for its continuing survival.
The advent of the Internet changed the business landscape forever. Typically, long established "brick-and-mortar" businesses that spent years and millions of dollars building their brands ruled their industry segments - perhaps rightfully so. Now, however, with new web-based businesses coming online virtually every day, many of these former stalwart business entities have seen their product/service offerings fall victim to mass commoditization and price wars.
Business-to-business companies in particular are finding themselves in these lowest-price battles every time they try to win client business. To me, this means the main players in the industry are not standing out from one another. They aren't differentiating themselves effectively enough.
Take any service-based industry today, for example - IT services, business consulting, legal consultation, etc. To the potential client, most of the major players look the same. All offer the main table stake services and do little to truly differentiate themselves from their competitors. A business prospect is left with only one choice - defer to the best price.
As business owners and managers, it is our job to mitigate or avoid these price battles by delivering to the client enticing key messages that peak their interest and satisfy their concerns.
When crafted and delivered in an impactful manner, a business's key messages (truly differentiating statements) will help it to differentiate itself from its competitors and attract customers.
In my nearly 13 years of key message development, I have come across some really ornate positioning statements, key messages and value propositions that unnecessarily used far too many elaborate words to make a point. Here are some examples:
· XXXX offers best-of-breed legal services to companies that need reliability and security so they can perform at the highest level.
· XXXX delivers value to global organizations through integrated financial services designed to help reduce cost and increase efficiency.
· XXXX provides its customers with state-of-the-art solar solutions to harness the power of the sun to lower costs.
· We help individuals market their ideas through innovation and precision. Our services increase value and decrease inefficiency while driving differentiation in the marketplace.
· Our powerful software is flexible, intuitive, easy-to-use and integrates seamlessly with your other tools. It is robust and scalable, and your organization can enjoy the benefits of our best-of-breed world-class offering.
Certainly, the name of the company behind these key messages can easily be substituted for a competitor. What do these statements tell you about these companies and why you should engage in business with them? Nothing! That is the point. So many companies today fall into the trap of utilizing overused or meaningless words to describe what they do. It just doesn't work.
Here are some examples of words to avoid at all costs in your positioning and messaging. They do absolutely nothing to truly differentiate you or your business:
Advanced
Best
Best-of-breed
Committed
Cutting-edge
Dedicated
Easy-to-use
Elaborate
Fastest
Flexible
Industry leading
Innovative
Leader
Leading
One-of-a-kind
Optimize
Partner
Proven
Quality
Quickest
Robust
Scalable
Solution
State-of-the-art
Unique
Unparalleled
Unsurpassed
Value
World-class
While this list is not a full representation of all of the trite words to stay away from, it should give you an idea of just how easy it can be to fall into the trap of developing key messages that will fall on deaf ears and that are not differentiating at all.
The Ten Second Elevator Pitch
Ten seconds is more than enough time to tell someone what your business offers and how it can benefit them. The 10-second differentiating elevator pitch is a succinct, impactful message that delivers the "what" and "why" of your business to the customer/prospect.
Following is an example of an elevator pitch that only communicates the features of a product or service and not its value or benefit:
XYZ builds and installs custom, back-office financial software for small businesses.
From this non differentiating statement it is easy to discern what this company does. However, it does not tell you how this business and its products and services can benefit you. The missing piece in this non differentiatingmessage is actually what compels individuals to purchase a business's goods and services. Without the stated value to the customer, no true differentiation is communicated.
Here is an example of that same elevator pitch above, with the customer benefit incorporated into the statement:
XYZ builds and installs custom, back-office financial software for small businesses to help simplify and automate their invoicing and payroll processes in order to improve accounting accuracy and efficiency.
From this effectively constructed business positioning statement, it is clear that 10 seconds is enough time to deliver the sales pitch. If you want your sales associates to create interest for a prospect to learn more about your products and services, you need to keep your messages short and impactful, incorporating both the "what" and the "why" of your offerings. Oftentimes, sales professionals have only seconds to engage a prospect on the other end of a cold call, between floors in an elevator, or during a brief encounter at an event.
It is, therefore, an essential business requirement that your customer-facing employees have concise, hard-hitting and differentiatingkey messages to communicate your business's value, succinctly, to prospects and customers.
Some companies place their elevator pitch on a laminated card and put it in the hands of every employee in the company, just in case the employee comes face to face with a prospective sales opportunity. Isn't this a fantastic idea? Why not? After all, every employee in your company, regardless of their primary role, can serve as an extension of your sales function. This includes the person answering the phone, your accounts receivable person, your delivery person and more.
A simple sales "cheat sheet", containing a company's positioning statement and top-line key messages can be laminated and kept in a wallet, purse, portfolio or even a pocket. This document is intended for internal use only.
Imagine one of your employees is in the elevator with a person who just happens to be looking for exactly what your company is selling. Now, let us assume this staff member is unprepared to deliver your killer sales message. The opportunity walks right out those doors when they open on the next floor.
Now, imagine that same opportunity arises, but this time the employee is armed with the proper business positioning sales pitch. When the opportunity presents itself, the employee introduces him/herself and delivers the key message. Is it not possible that the message may peak the interest of the person sharing the elevator, so that he/she agrees to a follow-up discussion? Of course it is. Furthermore, that exceptional opportunity might just turn into a significant sale for your company.
An elevator pitch isn't something magical that shakes money from the trees or is appropriate to use in every situation, but it should be designed to deliver enough differentiating impact when used to help foster deeper discussion.
Developing Your Business's Key Messages
Do you know how to differentiate?
An effective framework for differentiating a business's value should start with a powerful positioning statement: a memorable, impactful, concise sentence that tells people what you do, how your solutions are differentiating and what value you will provide to them. If your salespeople are not able to deliver this top-line differentiating sales pitch - and have the recipient understand it in the time it takes to go up two flights on an elevator - it is not effective, nor differentiating and needs to be redeveloped.
In the instance where the elevator gets stuck or the ride simply takes longer than it should, your salespeople should also be armed with fact-supported differentiatingmessages to further persuade, if necessary. These pointed, concise, powerful statements must support the corporate positioning statement and help to prove its viability and legitimacy. These differentiating assertions should be no more than one sentence each. Behind each of these messages must be supporting proof points to legitimize each key claim. The key is to have several layers of ammunition to prove your business's worth to a potential client and to make your product or service stand above the competition's.
Following each key message and its supporting proof points should be a customer value statement (or value proposition). This one or two sentence statement clearly articulates to the potential customer what value your product or service will offer them. Brand Positioning Statements - top line business message designed to stake a claim in the industry and position how customers should perceive the company.
· For example:
- We are the world's largest…
- Our company provides senior citizens with the cheapest…
- With key message: Our XYZ product is used today by 67 of the Fortune 100 companies.
§ Value proposition might be: You can feel assured that our technology is proven and will work as described.
- With key message: Each member of our management team has successfully launched an initial public offering (IPO).
§ Value proposition could be: Your money is being put into the hands of a company led by entrepreneurs with a history of success.
This type of "messaging hierarchy" is essential in business, unless you are taking a lowest-cost provider position. This is especially true in the business-to-business marketplace, where the value of products and services is not always apparent.
With a complete differentiating messaging framework established, an organization has the ammunition needed to effectively differentiate itself from the competition when competing for clients, new hires and leveraging in public relations news copy.
Today's educated consumer is growing weary of empty promises from manufacturers. Don't fall into this trap when differentiating your business. This does not mean that you shouldn't make bold, differentiating brand promises to your customers. But what this does mean is that you must be ready to back them up once you do. After all, differentiating claims can make all the difference between someone choosing your products or services over the competition. But your differentiating claims must be substantiated.
In the world of branding, it is sometimes said that perception is reality. To us, seasoned PR/branding professionals, this is true but only if the perception is based on reality. We're referring here to the "proof points" you must have to back up every differentiating claim you make about your products and services.
Here are two examples of differentiating messages; one that is substantiated and one that is not:
1. Bad: "Our widgets help companies boost productivity more than any other brand."
2. Good: "Our widgets help companies boost productivity by decreasing manufacturing cycle time by an average of 14%."
If you were a salesperson or self-employed entrepreneur, which differentiatingmessage would you want to have in your quiver when you're standing in front of your customer or prospect? I think the answer is clear.
Comparing Your Messaging to the Competition's
Do you truly know how to differentiate?
Have you ever put your differentiatingpositioning statement on the same piece of paper as your key competitions'? Try it, and the results will be quite telling. More often than not, your differentiatingpositioning statement uses similar or exactly the same phrases when trying to differentiate yourself. Putting yourself in the client/prospect's shoes for a moment, whom would you choose if the handful of companies you are considering all position themselves similarly?
When you take this process a bit deeper and also compare your differentiatingkey messages, proof points and customer value statements against your competition, you will be amazed at what you find. Invariably companies leverage "key differentiators" that they believe distinguish them from everyone else. But, what we've learned is that most companies develop these seemingly differentiating messages in a vacuum without first comparing themselves to the competition.
Here's an example…We had a client that sold financial services and positioned itself as a firm that has serviced well over 12,000 clients in the U.S. After our analysis, however, we learned that their top two head-to-head competitors had similar messages. Here they are:
Competitor 1: We have served over 75,000 multinational clients across 85 countries
Competitor 2: With offices across 18 countries, we have helped greater than 35,000 companies…
With this analysis, suddenly our client's "12,000" figure looks quite small in comparison. Based on these findings and others, we advised this company to take out the "12,000" figure in their message and come up with a more general statement as the 12,000 was far from differentiating.
Just like everything else good in life, effective and differentiating key messaging (and knowing how to differentiate) takes time and you owe it to yourself to do your homework before communicating tarnishing (rather than differentiating) key messages about your business to clients and prospects.
Knowing How to Differentiate Can Mean Business Gained
Does your business truly know how to differentiate itself from its competition? This is a true business impeative in today's struggling economy. The art of knowing how to differentiate all starts with the answers to a few simple questions that your business needs to know how to answer:
1. What specific offerings do you provide?
2. What unique value do these solutions bring to a customer?
3. How is your business and/or your solutions different and better than your competition?
4. Who do you help with your offerings (type of business, industry,etc.)?
If you can successfully and effectively answer these questions succinctly and with differentiation, then you are well on your way to knowing how to differentiate your business from the competition.
