Chances are you’re not the only player in your industry. There are probably dozens of other firms who compete for the same clients and claim to provide the same services you do.
You may think you’re unique. You may think your firm is clearly differentiated from those other firms. You may think there’s no way clients could ever confuse you with them.
I mean… how could they?
If Everyone Sounds the Same, No One is Different
If you take a good honest look at your website and those of your competitors… you’ll find that each firm (yours included) is probably using some combination of the following differentiators:
- “We have better people.”
- “We have a better process.”
- “We have better service.”
- “We’re committed to excellence.”
- “We’re just different.”
Some firms may employ these differentiators better than others… but when it comes down to it, they’re all essentially saying the same thing. And clients have gotten pretty good at tuning all of it out.
3 Simple Questions to Truly Differentiate Your Firm
To truly differentiate yourself from your competitors, you need to craft a message that’s not only unique, but also gives your firm a competitive advantage.
But to do that, you need to go beyond superficial jargon and begin to understand the real reason why clients are attracted to you in the first place.
Start by asking the following questions:
- Why do clients hire you? Go ask a handful of your clients why they chose you over everyone else. I can guarantee you they’re not going to say anything about your ‘commitment to excellence.’
- What rare expertise do you possess? There’s no way around being a specialist. You have to identify a specific set of skills that you and your firm excel at… and then position that expertise as an advantage over other firms.
- How do your clients get better results? In the end, clients care about one thing: themselves. If your clients experience certain benefits working with you that they wouldn’t get elsewhere… that’s a pretty good place to start.
This post is an excerpt from the April 25, 2016 issue of Forecast, the weekly marketing newsletter for professional services leaders. Read the full issue here.