Something better or more of the same?

What are you doing right now, to ensure that your business is offering the marketplace something better than it currently gets?

More of the same

The provider, who offers a pretty similar range of services and quality of service is setting a very low ceiling on their potential.   Even so, if you randomly research a few; accountants, web designers, lawyers, trainers or recruitment providers etc, you would see little if any real difference between them.  They will all promise a great service, show some testimonials and then reel off a predictable range of services.

They then wonder why they get so few inquiries, and why prospective clients are so cost conscious, when cost is all they have offered prospective clients, as a way to differentiate them from their competitors!

Something better?

Occasionally, we come across a service provider who’s offering a legitimately better service.  These are often people at the top of the pile locally or even nationally, such as:

• The designers, who take our breath away when we see their work.
• The accountants, who really “get” the business of business, rather than just the numbers.
• The lawyers, who speak to their clients like humans, in plain English.
• The trainers and coaches, who offer more than generic workshops and a range of courses that we could buy from a million other trainers.
• The recruitment professionals, who understand the human side of recruitment and recruitment marketing.

Those who lead the field do so, by standing out for all the right reasons.  They make it easy for us to see the value of using them, rather than one of the competitors.  We don’t price-shop with them, we just hope we can afford to use them or buy their products, after learning how good they are.  This is why Apple Inc. posted record breaking profits in the middle of a deep recession; even though their goods are priced at the high end of the market.  This is also why I work with my clients, to get them out of the sea of average providers; so they can market from a position of strength, rather than compete on price.  I strongly recommend you do the same.

Moving forward

I spoke yesterday about the need for change; how change should always be geared toward progress, not simply change for the sake of it.  It’s all too easy to mistake movement for progress.  To ensure your business is progressing, offering something that’s better rather than just different, here’s a suggestion.

Examine the needs of your marketplace, their hopes, fears and challenges.  Listen to them on services like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc.  Work out how to help them in those key areas, with your products or services.  I assure you, if you do this correctly, they will find your products or services massively more attractive.

No smoke. No mirrors.  Just a customer focused approach to business development.