THE PRACTITIONER

When I was younger, my street was a hotbed for lemonade stands. On any given weekend, there could be six or seven stands on one street. After all, Florida summers are HOT!  Because of this, I learned at an early age that if you want to attract customers and run a profitable business, you need to be able to identify what makes your lemonade better than the next guy’s. Fast-forward to the “real-world.” This lemonade stand is now a fierce world of business competition, and the rules still apply.

Being able to identify and effectively communicate compelling differentiators — and develop messages that tie those into what is relevant for your customers and also reflects the unique environment of the industry you serve  — is crucial. One exercise I perform with our clients is to have participants draft an ad about their company or product, personal-ad style.  Over the years, this exercise has yielded some pretty interesting and humorous written responses. To drive the point of the exercise home, I’ll ask them to read aloud their ad to the others in the group.  It’s a great bonding experience, but it also is valuable to the process, as it gets people to think differently, outside of business vernacular tired marketing jargon. Invariably, the information that is shared provides the inspiration for clearly defining the differentiators.

One important thing to remember when establishing product differentiation is to focus on the attributes of the product, not the features. If you simply focus on the features, you are not likely to fully differentiate yourself from your competitor’s offering. And if you are lucky enough to secure a differentiator for your product, make sure to protect it with consistency of behavior, imaging and messaging.

Many companies dilute their unique differentiators with intangible messaging and fancy words. Meanwhile, what really perks up the ears of buyers and decision makers are clear, unique benefits that address their specific business needs. Strategic agenda items such as “streamline my supply chain” or “reduced implementation downtime” are what people are willing to compensate you for, because those areas are where their organizations hold them accountable.

A 2009 survey (by The Marketing Leadership Council of the Corporate Executive Board (CEB)) of 9,000 decision makers in B2B companies found that 86% of the “unique benefits” offered by vendors were not perceived as distinctive or having enough impact to create preference. Additionally, the survey found that companies who hang their hat on less concrete benefits, such as customer service, aren’t received well by decision-makers, who see those touch points as marginal or poor drivers of preference.

An organization’s market differentiation cuts to the heart of its value — and immediately offers the benefit a buyer will receive. Why make buyers dig for this information? When I was six, I offered a lemon slice to accompany the beverage, and it put the other stands out of business pretty darn quick. What’s your lemon slice?

Steve is President of Wunderkind Public Relations. He regularly comments on public relations strategy, social media and trends impacting the communications industry. You can follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.