Category: Differentiation

Ask customers to give you written feedback, i.e. by email. Display the nice things that they say about you throughout your promotional mix. Have a separate web page for testimonials. Testimonials are a form of 'social proof'. Use them liberally within sales proposals. If you sell to businesses, you will find that some client companies are not keen for you use their names. If that is the case, you could attribute the testimonial to (something like): 'Director from the construction industry' They are more believable than an enterprise telling you how great it is....

What is your marketing offer? If you have ever seen the CEO of a supermarket being interviewed, they are quite likely to talk about their offer to their customers. Supermarkets spend a lot of money figuring this out, as there is a great deal of money at stake. Your offer might be based on fast response, outstanding service, a unique package of benefits, hard-won expertise or other factors. Whatever your offer is, it is important to be clear about it. Include your central offer within your Key Messages....

What do you want people to remember about your enterprise? If you send out dozens of messages, it will be difficult for people to remember them. It is better to have a central message that is supported by a handful of key messages. Once you have decided what the messages are, keep repeating them throughout your promotional mix. Your promotional mix = all of the ways in which you promote your enterprise, i.e. website, advertisements, email marketing, social media. Key messages are important as they help to create awareness and word of mouth. They are part of your marketing strategy. The Marketing Compass has two key messages: * Impartial marketing advice & training * Find your marketing direction...

What is your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? This was a term coined by Rosser Reeves, the copywriter who eventually ran the Ted Bates advertising agency in New York. Once you know your real USP, there are many things which you can do to make your enterprise stand out from the crowd. Here is one way in which you and can figure out your USP. Set aside half a day to do this exercise. Gather together a team of people to help you. You will need lots of large sheets of paper. Start by writing down the answer to the following question: Why do our customers buy our products / services? If your team is familiar with Mind Mapping, this would be a great way of capturing their answers. As the session progresses, your job as facilitator is to use the Socratic method of probing deeper and deeper to find out the real reasons why people buy from you. Socrates would never accept the first answer which people...

Customers can solve their problems by buying your products or services or those of your competitors. If you do not have direct competitors, there will be generic competition. It is important to differentiate your enterprise. Most enterprises do not spend sufficient time thinking through this key issue. Consider it from the customer's perspective: Why is your business, brand, charity, product or service different from other providers? As a human being, you are unique. You are one of a kind amongst billions of human beings. Think of your enterprise in this way. What is special about it? What makes it different from your competitors? The business guru and author, Michael Porter, says that there are only two fundamental business strategies: Low Cost and Differentiation. For example, there are many retailers who promote low prices. However, many retailers focus on low prices and go out of business. The other strategy is differentiation. Another way of saying this is: ‘Standing out from the crowd’. List the ways in which you are different from everyone else. Write it down like this:...