better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

Differentiation!

9 October 2016

Bread, milk and cheese are all commodity products and yet we all buy things that we like, based on our perception of quality and value. We have our favorite brands and types and even though these are simple products we know that not all bread is the same, and that Cheddar tastes different depending on the supplier we favour.

All these products have been differentiated so that us consumers have a clear choice. Marketing campaigns, packaging and pricing all enable us to make a conscious choice between seemingly everyday products.

However, too many businesses pepper their websites with dull comments such as ‘we deliver high quality’ and ‘we go the extra mile’ or the meaningless ‘we think out of the box.’ (If you need to tell people that then your website is seriously uncreative). 

These statements add no value. They are bland clichés that fail to inform our customers about what makes us special. We would do better to replace them with novel, interesting and relevant points of difference between us and our competitors such as…

‘We will personally come to your business and collect your year-end accounts.’

‘All of our clients get complementary gym membership.’

‘Our consulting rooms have air-conditioning and free freshly squeezed orange juice.’

I once booked a hotel for a meeting because it had free icecream available all day and my clients loved that. When was the last time you had that at a corporate venue?

If we want to succeed in business then we need to stand out and we do that by differentiating ourselves. Any point of uniqueness is worth shouting about because it will enable someone somewhere to choose to use us.

This week take a fresh look at your website and cull the clichés. They are lazy words that undersell us and with a bit of thought we can all find something that none of our competitors do. I’m the only business coach I know who takes clients on to the beach…it’s the best office in the world!

Next week: The Bobble-Head Story