The One Word Many Business Owners Don’t Understand
Notice anything about the photo to the left here? Does anything stick out just a little more than the others?
Differentiate
Take a moment to look at businesses in your niche and I bet you will see the majority of them doing the same thing, selling the same product, and offering the same services, in essentially the exact same way. Yet when asked, these same businesses will have a hard time telling you why their results are nearly the same as everyone else’s.
This doesn’t mean that you and your competitors can’t offer similar goods and services. Quite the opposite actually. You most likely will have the same offering for your target market, but something needs to get into the head of your consumer to make them choose you.
Consider This
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My point here is that you don’t need to have a completely unique product, idea, or service…but the way you bring that product, idea, or service to market better be unique enough to stand out, yet similar enough to sell.
The Law of Familiarity and Diminishing Returns
The law of familiarity states that
“as consumers become more familiar with a product or service the rate of return to the producer of that product or service will diminish over time”
What this means is that the more mainstream your offering is, the more you are going to have to work to differentiate yourself in order to make above average profits.
Example: You Don’t Need to Invent the Shoe
When the first shoe was created and sold I am sure consumers went giddy over it, and it was sold/traded for obscene prices. But over time we have become pretty familiar with shoes, and as such the opportunity for above average returns has diminished.
Enter Nike.
Nike differentiated themselves in the shoe business, took a product that has been around almost as long as humans have walked upright, and brought the “WOW” factor back to it. What do they get for their efforts to differentiate? They get the privilege of selling tennis shoes for $150 to lines of individuals eager to pay such a price.
Granted some of you will be lucky enough to be inventing today’s version of the shoe and you will experience astronomical returns by comparison to the rest of us, but you’re certainly in the minority.
Keep it Simple, But Know Your Edge
Differentiation doesn’t need to be on a grand scale. You don’t need to be so weird or out of the ordinary that people remember you. But you do need to know what your edge is, and how you are differentiated from the competition.
In fact you will be best served by being familiar enough to consumers that they know what you are about, yet different enough to stay in their minds. Much like the picture at the beginning of this post, all very alike but one just a little bit different.
Lastly: If you aren’t sure what sets you apart from the competition, figure it out quickly. If nothing sets you apart…figure out what will even quicker.
Wow great posts! It made me think about what differentiates my blog from all the other blogs in my niche. I will definately have to have a good think about this.
This post brings up a very good point. If there are many widgets manufacturers out there selling widgets what makes your widgets special. This is also referred to as USP (unique sale proposition) or as I like to call it business DNA. i.e. We offer SEO/SEM services and have clearly spelled out our Unique Sales Proposition so our website visitors can easily understand what Differentiates us from the competition.
I’ve got to agree that it seems like most businesses focus on what they can copy from others instead of how they can be different and better. I think a very simple way that a business can differentiate itself is to offer excellent customer service, yet from my own experience, few do.
Steve from Pinnacle Trade Show Displays
PS. Fortunately, if you’re looking for trade show displays, our company does differentiate with great customer service!
Great post. It’s definitely important to remember that unless you have a product/business that is completely groundbreaking, you are going to face some competition. As long as you have a niche and an angle that makes you unique, you can position yourself differently. I like what Gerald says about “Business DNA” – what sets you apart from everyone else.
@Tom
Be yourself and follow your gut, that should go a long ways in differentiating your blog from the others.
Matt
@Gerald
Love how you take it to the consumer and not wait for them to figure it out. If you’re doing something different/better than the competition, tell your customers about it.
Matt
@Steve
Ever watched Bob Farrell’s “Give ‘em the Pickle”? See if you can get a clip of it on Youtube, it pretty much sums up what customer service is all about, and definitely worth the 5 minutes you’ll spend with the video.
Matt
@Erin Bury
We have to admit that for most of us we are not inventing the wheel anymore…but I bet I can sell the wheel better than my competitors can, and that is where great businesses are born.
Matt
Great insight, Matt.
In the context of blogging, your writing style and presentation format is what makes you ‘unique’ and stand out from the crowd. Sadly, quality is often overlooked at the expense of posting frequency in a rinse-and-repeat style.
Yan
By the way, the comments are overlapping with one another and I’m not too sure if you are aware of it.
Yan
Hey Matt,
BTW, I’m using Firefox and right now all the comments including Yan’s look fine.
Before you panic based on Yan’s comment above, I think I noticed that when I first placed my comment (it overlapped on the one above), but if I refreshed the screen and or came back to the post, it was ok. I’ll see if it happens this time. Even if it does, if that’s all it is, I wouldn’t worry.
~ Steve, Pinnacle Trade Show Displays
Hmm… just placed a comment, and everything looks fine. no overlapping at all. Looks like a minor, come-and-go bug.
~ Steve, Pinnacle Trade Show Displays
@Steve
Thanks for the feedback. From time to time I’ve had problems with the plugins I use to do threaded comments, and I think that was the problem here. I’m looking for a solution if you have suggestions.
Matt