If you want your business to stand out from your competitors, you have to be different. You have to look different and sound different and offer your audience something they can’t get anywhere else.
But what do you do if your target audience can get your products or services somewhere else, or worse yet, in lots of other places?
That’s the case for most of us. I’m certainly not the only copywriter in town! Instead of letting that simple truth get you down, you have to dig deep to find your own brand of special.
Here are 5 ways you can make your business seem unique (even when it’s not really):
- Create a unique brand personalityYour brand is a combination of your story, your skills and your style and it can make your business as unique as you are. Branding goes way beyond how you look. Good business branding represents the promises you make to your customers and what they can expect from you.
To start defining the personality of your business brand, choose three or four words that describe your business – as if it were a person. Is it luxurious and a bit posh? Or funny and quirky? Is it exuberant and friendly? Or understated and formal?
How do these personality attributes affect the way your business interacts with customers? That’s where your business can carve it’s own niche.
- Delve into your service delivery
The way you deliver your service, from the first inquiry to the last contact, can be a great way to differentiate your business
I often ask clients to walk me through their customer service process, from start to finish, and we uncover all kinds of gems their competitors don’t offer. Things like guaranteed call-back times, or dedicated account managers, lollipops snuck into deliveries, or hand written thank you notes.
The small details of your service delivery will revealed some great angles you can promote in your marketing. And if it doesn’t, perhaps it should! - Choose an aspect no one else talks about
If you don’t think your product or service is unique, write down all the features you offer. I mean all of them; even the ones you think are too small for anyone to care about. Especially the ones you think are too small for anyone to care about. Maybe you have an extra stage in your quality control process. Maybe your packaging is made from recycled materials or your business is carbon neutral. In your list will be at least a few features that your competitors just aren’t talking about. It could be because they don’t offer them, which gives you a unique selling point right there. It could be that you have found a feature you can turn a spotlight on to make your business sound unique.
- Focus on the big benefit
When your competitors are focusing on the many features your shared product or service offers, it’s time to choose a benefit. A big one.
It’s the difference between a rubber-gripped hammer and a safe way of improving your home. While your competitors are focusing on the rubber, or the comfortable grip, you can skip straight to keeping yourself and your family safe. - Add more explanation
In most cases, you’ll have a lot of features that make your product or service marketable but that doesn’t mean they’re exciting or unique.
Your business can stand out by being helpful and providing more explanation. Dig into the story behind the features and explain why clients should care.
And if all else fails….
It sounds crazy but you can actually offer something unique as well. It might be a free report that helps show off your skills, or a consultation that talks through some of your customers’ initial questions.
Look for add-ons and incentives your customers will think are valuable but are actually relatively low cost for you to offer.
With a bit of thinking time and some imagination, you can make your business stand out from the crowd.
