In my Brand Consulting side of things, “Our people make the difference” is the by far the most common answer to my question – “Exactly what is it that makes you different from your competition?”
Let’s be honest every company’s employee pool has talent and they do a great job making their products great. You have to dig deeper and pull out something more compelling that makes you the leader. You’ve got to be the first to market with this powerful position and you have to deliver it is such a way that your target audience see’s your company as the only alternative.
Simple eh?
The fact is we can achieve this goal is several different ways. We can look long and hard and see how the delivery of the product can be facilitated whereby the client experience’s is an overwhelming difference from how it is typically delivered within your industry. Let’s say you are a burger joint. EVERYBODY follows the McDonald’s standard of a graphic menu board above and behind the counter. Is there another way that is bolder, better and ground-breaking? Look at your burger joint from a new perspective.
What if your product is a medical service? Lot’s of compliances right? Sure the public has to be safe. Well what if you went one better? What if you developed your own compliance? Name it and promote it as your own. Make sure that it’s progressive and bold. So bold that the competition probably thinks your crazy to adhere to it. Crazy genius I’m thinking.
I call these solutions Positioning Strategies and most companies don’t employ them. Most companies employ slogans. When was the last time a slogan compelled you to act? I’ll bet your thinking hard about that aren’t you? Remember when the iPhone came out? It was the only smart phone offering “apps”. That and the touch screen quickly made it a leading contender in what seemed a saturated cell phone market. A compelling reason to buy, actually created a brand-new category. This is not beyond what you are also capable of. You don’t need Apple’s deep pockets either – you only need the innovation of Apple’s entrepreneurial spirit.
In my consulting service I get the best results from decisive and bold thinkers. If this is you, then you are sitting on just what it takes to deliver a positioning strategy that not only compels your target audience but will re-invigorate your staff and other stake holders.
The only person that can truly make a difference is YOU – if you are willing to grab the gold within you.