Same Same or Different?
You know what your organisation does and what you do well. But do your customers? In the consumer-driven era, successful organisations will position themselves in the market place and decide whether to compete on price or ‘differentiation.’
We are all consumers and make daily purchases, for example, “Shall I buy the retailer's home brand chocolate or treat myself to a bar of Lindt?...” as we decide where to spend our precious dollars.
What decisions do we make before we buy? Home brand chocolate may be cheaper but will it provide/satisfy us with what we’re looking for at that moment? Does that bar of chocolate evoke the feelings and story of the Lindt brand —does it ooze with high quality ingredients or taste as amazing?
‘Differentiation’ is about potential customers knowing what value you offer and understanding what sets you apart from other service providers. Successful differentiation enables you to compete on factors other than price like specialisation, service quality or relationships with customers.
How do you start thinking about differentiation?
You can start by focusing on your (existing and potential) customers, asking: “Who are our customers and what are their needs?” Then look at how those needs can be met; and then how the organisation’s strengths can be leveraged and communicated. This is a discussion about what your organisation does better than any other.
Why should customers choose your services over others?
Once you’ve identified your target customers, your organisational strengths and ‘value proposition’ (a short, pithy statement capturing this specific value in a nutshell), then your next task is to communicate this in the market place. Your marketing messages will be more precise, more focused and most importantly, more appealing to potential customers: the one who matters most.
Do we look, sound, feel and act like everyone else? Are we ‘same same’ or different?
Guest Author for CommunityWest: Tina Brune
This post was originally published by CommunityWest