By Sean Ashcroft
STRIVING to be the best is generally thought of as a positive thing in life, yet commercially, seeking perfection can be bad for business, a leading marketing author and advisor believes.
John Jantsch is one of the most widely read small business experts, and he despairs of businesspeople that “sit around trying to figure out how they can be better than the competition”
Brand differentiation: 1. Clients understand ‘different’, not ‘better’
Jantsch – whose blog Duct Tape Marketing is hugely popular – adds: “They want a better product, better service, better features, and, the real killer, better price. Heck, some even strive to be ‘best’ in class.”
What businesses should be looking to achieve, says Jantsch, is not to be better than the competition, just different.
“I’m not against lofty goals, but client prospects often won’t take the time to understand the subtle differences that make your product or service better, and you might spend all your time and energy trying to educate them when all they want to know is the price.”
Brand differentiation: 2. ‘Better‘ is not where the money is
Differentiation is where the money is, believes Jantsch. “Build a strategy around a simple way that your company is different from the pack.” Having what a business feels is a superior product or service does not count as differentiation, stresses Jantsch.
“Do your competitors all suggest they offer crappy service?” he asks, adding: “Focusing all of your strategic thinking, goal setting and actions on building a better process or better relationships is the surest and maybe simplest way to create a true competitive advantage that someone might care about.
He adds: “Would you rather lean on your 5% better product or price or on something so totally outrageous and innovative that people can’t stop talking about it?”
Brand differentiation: 3. Build a unique customer experience
Jantsch suggests creating a unique customer experience is how businesses stand out from the pack. “It’s how you create a difference that can’t be easily copied, and it’s how innovation comes to small business.”
He says that instead of spending R&D time on product features, to sink it into creating branded intellectual property, a distinct way of marketing, or on developing people and culture inside your organization that enables you to be seen as different.”
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