Differentiate or Die!

This article will explain why a Unique Selling Position (USP) is critical to your success. Your marketing exists in a confusing and complex world. Think for a minute about how many choices you have as a consumer in just about any product category. Its not unusual to have dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands of alternatives when you're shopping for a product or service.

If you doubt me, just jump on the Internet and see how many businesses would love to sell you a pair of shoes or a briefcase or a shirt. My guess is that your alternatives could number in the thousands.

That's a good thing right? Sure . . . if you're the consumer. What about all of us marketing professionals who come to work everyday and try to find better ways of selling? How do we survive in such a world?

If Your Advertising Doesn't Make You Different, You've Missed the Mark. The first thing your advertising must do is show your customer how you're different from everyone else. I was consulting with a small business client the other day and we went to the yellow pages for her product category and saw a perfect example of how advertising should not be done..

There were pages upon pages of ads. They all had one thing in common. They were so much the same that you could have substituted one company name for another without changing the ad in the slightest.

This was obviously a problem for all those companies--but an opportunity for my client! He (or she) who differentiates--wins!

When there are no apparent differences customers will decide based on price. So what happens when customers are faced with hundreds of choices and dont see any difference between one business and another? The only thing left to compare is price, so that's how they make their choice. If you haven't shown that you're different, price will be the deciding factor for your customers too. That's not the best thing for you and your business, and this might surprise you, but it's not good for your customer either--especially if your value is best recognized by establishing a long-term relationship with the customer. Business you get because you have the best price will go somewhere else as soon as they find a lower price. You may be the fastest gun in the West. But no matter how fast you are, there's always someone faster. That's a dangerous game. It's much safer to differentiate.

If you can differentiate yourself, you can charge higher prices. Companies who effectively demonstrate their differences from the competition can justify higher prices. The lowest price does not always get the business. Just think for a minute. You don't always buy the cheapest product or service. Even if you're a world champion cheapskate you can differentiate between bruised and fresh produce. You'll pay a higher price for the fresh vegetables. Correct?

Are your customers any different? No. Certainly, you must have a reasonable price, but if you have highlighted an important difference in your product or service, customers will pay extra to have that benefit.

One of the most important paths to increased sales, more satisfied customers and better profits is to find the important point which makes your business different from your competitors. Then be sure to make that obvious in your advertising.

Article Source: http://www.yourarticle.info

The author, Craig Mecham, is the founder of of The Mecham Company The Mecham Company, a marketing consulting firm. With two decades success in Business to Business Marketing and promotions, Mr. Mecham counsels with under performing businesses.

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