It’s oh-too-easy to be another ‘me-too’. But why should a customer buy from you if there are multiple companies offering the same products and benefits? Worse, what if you’re following a business model and it’s just plain wrong? Susie Smith shows you how to get attention, interest and response from your prospective customers by NOT doing what your competition is doing…
Reader Colin Skilton of Future Credit asks: “[How do I get] it right in my field of Credit Management, as I feel currently all others have got it wrong?”
ANSWER
I don’t believe there is a definite ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to do business in any given field. For me, it all boils down to one thing: who your potential customers or clients are, and how you can best be of value to or help them.
So the first thing I suggest you do at this stage is to find a link between what you sell and how it offers a solution to the needs of your target market.
Next, assess how you are currently positioning yourself. What does it say about you or what you offer to your prospects? What can you do to change the current perception to that which you desire?
For many, the real process begins with writing (or reworking) your positioning statement, USP (Unique Selling Proposition) or marketing message. I have covered this many times in past issues of my previous newsletter Communiqué for Success, as well as in this blog, so you might want to look at a few previous newsletter issues/blog posts.
Get Inside the Hearts & Minds of Your Prospects
It is vital that you take the time to truly understand the mindset of your customers. Identify what they feel about what it is you sell. How do they determine the difference between your business and your closest competitors? What ‘value’ statement, proposition or demonstration compels a buyer to purchase from you and not your competitors?
Once you have dug deep and you have answers to these and other questions, build your core marketing message accordingly.
Uncover Your ‘Differentiators’
Differentiation plays a key role here; so do try to unearth your main competitive advantage. What is the chief benefit of doing business with you, and only you?
The fact is, if you plan to succeed in business – online or offline – this is one
question you really need to have an answer to. And not just any ordinary answer, but a COMPELLING one. One that cuts through the clutter (one of the BIG problems today among prospects and customers alike is that of information OVERLOAD) and reaches your potential market.
Your point of differentiation – or ‘uniqueness’ – may well relate to the way your credit-management service is priced, presented or delivered. Perhaps you offer options that others don’t. Maybe it’s in the way you package your services… Credit management can be an overwhelming field, so what would happen if you presented solutions that appeared to be ‘pain’ fr^ee or were nice and easy to implement? And so on.
Build Emotional Impact
Whatever you decide on, make sure you create a crystal-clear, compelling positioning statement that quickly answers the most fundamental question of them all: “What’s in it for me?” By “me” I mean your target market.
The bottom line is: The more clearly you define and communicate the unique value of your credit-management services, the more distinctive your marketing edge will be. And when you tie that in to what resonates well with your target audience, it can only mean one thing: you leap frog over your competition.