SME businesses have many challenges. One of these challenges is how to determine what makes their business stand out from the competition, their differentiating value proposition. Being able to differentiate your business and communicate your unique capabilities that your rivals do not have is paramount to success in your target market. Key to business growth is how you differentiate from competitors in target markets.
When someone asks you, what makes you different from your rivals:
Do you answer the question confidently, telling them why you are the best at solving their key needs?
Does your answer help your customers feel like you understand their needs?
Do you communicate the unique capabilities that make you their ideal choice?
Does everyone in the company know and understand how you differentiate from rivals?
When you differentiate your business, you make it sustainable, memorable and credible. It helps your identified market quickly understand what you do and what sets you apart from your rivals.
Important to creating your differentiating value proposition is understanding what your target client wants and how your unique capabilities and systems can deliver it better than anyone else. This exercise is not easy to do. It takes a lot of thought, challenging the status quo, brainstorming to define how you want to face the market, what products/services fit your value creation and the unique capabilities systems that will deliver to the market.
Consider the following ideas to help you determine the differentiating capabilities that make your business stand out:
Commit to an Identity
Differentiate and grow by being clear-minded about what you can do.
Define your Value Creation
Value Creation is a company’s approach to creating value for its customers. It is how you choose to face the market and create value for your customers. It is a considered approach for creating and capturing value in a particular market, in a way that differentiates you from all your rivals. It may involve being an experienced, innovative or trusted player. The critical element is the value creation sets it above rivals, providing a clear point of difference.
Narrow your target market
By specialising in a specific customer niche, you can focus on the capabilities or services that uniquely benefit that customer. By offering a differentiating value proposition based on your value creation and capabilities systems; you are well-positioned to provide the best solution for their situation. This enables you to maximise revenue and build stronger and lasting customer relationships.
Manage Cost and Cash Flow
Unnecessary cost is your enemy, it consumes profit, fuels incoherence and prevents you from focusing on your capabilities systems and value creation. Companies need to align their cost structure, developing a clear whole of organisation cost plan, invest in sustainable and differentiating capabilities funded by the improved cost structure.
Shape your future and Leverage your culture:
Reimagine your capabilities, create demand, celebrate and leverage your cultural strengths.
Focus on superior customer service
Aim to create the best experience for your customers. From your initial proposal through final delivery of your product or service, be sure the customer journey is positive, laying the foundation for repeat business or referral.
Solve a problem
Find out what common problems your clients have and be the best at solving them. Make your solutions turnkey so you can solve their problems faster and with better results.
Be innovative
Continuously try to improve your customer-facing processes to deliver better results to your target market. Every industry evolves, and so should your business. If you offer similar services as your rivals, make the way you deliver them or how you work with your customers unique. Try to get to the solution faster and more accurately than the competition can deliver.
Be known as the expert in your field
Build a reputation as the expert in your field through industry associations and publications, become a member of a relevant industry committee or body, keynote speaker, social media, books, videos, training and other information products. People who genuinely have a problem to solve will want to work with the expert.
Make it easy to do business with you
Work on your business model to make it easy as possible to work with you. Provide simple and easy access for purchasing, information and after-sales assistance. Review your contract, payment options, terms and conditions, simplify if needed. Implement systems and process ensuring engaging with your business is easy and convenient.
Take the time to determine your distinctive capabilities, differentiating value proposition and communicate them to your target market in a way that gets them to notice you above all else. Once you have them defined and can demonstrate your unique difference, be sure to incorporate it into your messages everywhere.
Key to business growth is how you differentiate from competitors in target markets. It’s not just about being good at what you do, it also about being DIFFERENT.
What is the unique difference that makes your customers want to work with you?
Contact us to find out how we can help you get there.
Recent Comments