Do you cringe every time you hear the words ‘What makes you different?’ Do you think ‘Oh no. I still have no idea what my niche is’? Do the words ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ and ‘Point of Difference’ make you go weak at the knees because in your heart you just know that your business is a lot more ‘same same’ than different to your competitors? Here’s three secrets that will give you relief from these miserable symptoms of business boringness.
1. Design Multiple Differences
Anyone can copy one or two points of difference – it is the unique combination of multiple factors that will actually make your business different. And the more out of the box and opinionated you are in promoting your differences, the stronger your brand will be… as long as your differences align with your customer’s requirements. So don’t go looking for one big impossible to find point of difference – go looking for 10 or 20 smaller ones that combined make you look like the company your customers have been waiting for! Find out what they hate about your industry and fix it! Discover their pain points and go beyond their expectations! Use your constraints to create unheard-of solutions. And then be a curator: often it’s what you leave out that leaves the largest impression. Create a combination of differences that is impossible to copy!
2. Be Yourself
It’s common to see new businesses earnestly emulating their more established competitors. No-one is interested in swapping to a clone of their existing supplier. The risk is all on your clients side. In every industry there is space for a wide variety of ice-cream flavours – just because plain vanilla is popular, doesn’t mean all clients will choose it (and often the margins are smaller)! Have a good look at who your ideal clients are. Find the quirky twists that you enjoy and they appreciate and form your brand around these. You’ll create raving fans instead of dutiful dinosaurs – a much more progressive and profitable base to build a business on!
3. Engage Clients Creatively
Once you know how you’re different, show your clients the difference, rather than telling them. Allow your differences to shine through at the client touchpoints which have the most impact or influence. Be willing to be seen as different. When you start getting word of mouth clients regularly, media requests and hearing gossip about your business you’ll know your ‘be the difference’ strategy is working!
