On a weekly basis, I find myself chatting with someone who wants me to help them find a way to differentiate their business from their competitors.
That’s a good thing, but it really isn’t what they’re really after.
The reality is that these folks want me to suggest a thing or two about the products they sell (or the services they provide) that will make it impossible (or maybe “almost impossible”) to compete with them.
Basically, it’s my job to find and then help them illustrate a real, usable, game-changing difference between themselves and whoever they compete with.
Far too often, they try to compete almost solely on price.
Since I’ve beat the “don’t compete solely on price” thing into the ground in the past (eg: all those columns where I mention Wal-Mart), we’re going to come at this from a different direction this week.
There’s nothing wrong with having a good price and providing great value. The trap that some fall into is making it their *sole* competitive edge. So let’s find another edge.
Is it the steak or the sizzle? Or maybe something else?
If I offered to buy you dinner and gave you a choice between Chef Boy-R-Dee and Mambo’s Italian in Whitefish, which would you choose? I’m guessing that Mambo’s would be your choice.
If I offered to buy you soup, would you choose Campbell’s or a bowl from Kalispell’s Café Max? Again, I’m guessing you’d choose the latter.
Over the last several months, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the CPSIA situation.
Despite widespread knowledge of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act by some store owners, I’ve seen no one using it as a competitive advantage.
Why not? Maybe they’ve been too busy spending time trying to chase down their Congressional types to get them to fix the law.
Here’s an example of what you might do if the law affects your business.
Imagine that you’re a new mom or grandma (or even a proud new grandpa) of a newborn and you walk into a baby store that features handmade clothing. As you enter, you see a sign that says “All of our baby clothing is tested and certified safe according to the CPSIA”.
Do you think that just might plant a seed in the minds of discriminating shoppers?
The seed it plants is this: “Shouldn’t everyone’s stuff be tested and certified safe?” Hmmm, now I wonder whose stuff *isn’t* tested and certified.
Remember, in a store like that – the discriminating shopper is absolutely the one you *want* in your store. Whether you like the CPSIA law or not, why not use it to your advantage?
If you wanted to get really in-your-face about it, your signage might also say something like this: “Do the other stores you frequent care as much about your baby’s safety as we do? Ask them about the CPSIA and their testing and safety certification of the fashions they offer for your child.”
While you’re at it, maybe you include an information sheet about the law, written in plain spoken non-legalese and referring to resources on the law, including cpsc.gov.
Fresh from the oven
If you have a choice, do you want warm, soft chocolate chip cookies made from scratch that are fresh out of Grandma’s oven, or do you want generic store-brand “chocolate” chip cookies that you know might have been baked a month ago?
I’d bet that you’d prefer the warm cookies from Grandma’s oven.
What about your business, product and service can create a gap between you and your competition that is that obvious? What can you call attention to that makes it *that* easy to choose your product and/or services instead of the competition’s?
Whatever that thing or things might be, your challenge is to repeatedly make a point of focusing on it.
Educate your clientele to call attention to it so that they’ll expect to find exactly what you do/sell if and when they somehow find themselves in a competitor’s store.
Your job is to establish your business as the standard that everyone else has to at meet if they even want to have a chance at the business.
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site or contact him at [email protected].