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Other Added - Differentiation - Smart Marketing Strategies for the Solo Entrepreneur
Are you a business-to-business direct mail marketer looking for something better to offer than white papers? Consider self-assessment surveys.But first, let’s clarify a few things. I’m assuming you’re a B2B direct marketer who uses direct mail to generate sales leads rather than make a sale. You are mailing to prospects that you hope are in the early stage of their buying cycle, the time when they are identifying their need, gathering information on solutions and establishing specifications for any vendors they choose to interview.This is the stage of the buying cycle where white papers are so effective, because they help prospective customers discover their needs and learn about solutions. But if your offers of white papers are not generating the response rates they once did, try offering a self-assessment survey instead.A
- Location--take advantage your closeness to prospective customers.
- Customer specialization--be very specific about what characteristics your customers will have—for example, racing bicycle enthusiasts or companies with a spiritual conscience.
- Customer relationships--know customers really well, form partnerships with them, and get them to speak for you!
- Affinity relationships--associate your product/service with a well-known person or organization.
- One-stop shopping--offer everything your target market needs, in your area of expertise.
- Wide selection (within your niche
Everyone knows that customer service is important. However, most are clueless about how customer service can have a direct impact in their lives. If everyone knows customer service is important, why do most of us only pay lip service to it or adopt a lukewarm attitude towards providing an excellent customer service?This is a true story that happened today.I walked into a well-known electrical store with full intention to cart back 2 standing fans that very moment. The spacious outlet was quite empty with just a few lingering customers browsing around; I thought the purchase would be a breeze. I was deadly wrong.I saw a suitable model but there were no sales consultants there. I looked at the customer service counter and noticed more than 10 sales consultants sitting or standing there, resting or chatting. I waved at them, and gesturing towards my idea
-- Dif-fer-en-ti-ate v. tr. To perceive or show the difference in or between; discriminate. --
In business terms, to differentiate means to create a benefit that customers perceive as being of greater value to them than what they can get elsewhere. It's not enough for you to be different--a potential customer has to take note of the difference and must feel that the difference somehow fits their need better. (Other words that mean virtually the same thing: Competitive Advantage; Unique Selling Proposition; or Value Proposition.)
As you are building your business, you can use differentiation to attract more customers. Once you have momentum, differentiation allows you to charge a higher price because you are delivering more value to your customers. Make a point to evaluate and adjust your differentiation methods at least annually.
The various methods of differentiating your businesses fall into four general categories:
Price Differentiation
Focus Differentiation
Product/Service Differentiation
Customer Service Differentiation
Price Differentiation
Differentiating on price is probably the most common and easily understood method. HOWEVER, for Solo Entrepreneurs, caution is in order. On the one hand, potential customers might expect a lower price from you than from your larger competition because they perceive you as having less overhead, etc. On the other hand, cheaper prices can evoke perceptions of lower quality, a less-stable business, etc. And if you compete on price against competitors with deeper pockets, you can price yourself right into bankruptcy. Be creative with this differentiator by competing on something other than straight price. For example, you might offer:
- More value--offer more products or services for the same price.
- Freebies --accessories, companion products, free upgrades, and coupons for future purchases.
- Free shipping, etc.--convenience sells, especially when it is free!
- Discounts--includes offering regular sales, coupons, etc. (see cautions above)
Focus Differentiation
For Solo Entrepreneurs, this is the most important method of differentiation, and in many ways, the easiest. Why? Because as a Solo Entrepreneur, you simply can't be everything to everybody, so you must pick a specific way to focus your business. Once you have done that, you have an automatic advantage over larger companies because you can become more of an expert in that one field --and you can build close relationships with key customers that will be hard to duplicate. For example, you might differentiate yourself through:
- Location--take advantage your closeness to prospective customers.
- Customer specialization--be very specific about what characteristics your customers will have—for example, racing bicycle enthusiasts or companies with a spiritual conscience.
- Customer relationships--know customers really well, form partnerships with them, and get them to speak for you!
- Affinity relationships--associate your product/service with a well-known person or organization.
- One-stop shopping--offer everything your target market needs, in your area of expertise.
- Wide selection (within your niche)
Thrashing out mistakes in manufacturing engineering was developed by the Japanese as a tool of mistake proofing that helps reduce waste in areas such as time, energy and resources. The idea stresses on producing zero defects as a part of a quality tool kit to prevent human errors. Although Poka Yoke is applied differently in different situations, the common thread that binds them all is its simplicity; it uses small tools at the point of the anticipated mistake generation itself.Empowerment of Employees As A Tool of Poka Yoke DevelopmentThe beautiful part of mistake-proofing is the empowerment of employees to identify, suggest ways out and execute the plan to iron out the cause of the mistake at its point of origination. In fact, anybody from a manager to a line employee can be allowed to complete mistake proofing planning. It applies to every other area, in
As you are building your business, you can use differentiation to attract more customers. Once you have momentum, differentiation allows you to charge a higher price because you are delivering more value to your customers. Make a point to evaluate and adjust your differentiation methods at least annually.
The various methods of differentiating your businesses fall into four general categories:
Price Differentiation
Focus Differentiation
Product/Service Differentiation
Customer Service Differentiation
Price Differentiation
Differentiating on price is probably the most common and easily understood method. HOWEVER, for Solo Entrepreneurs, caution is in order. On the one hand, potential customers might expect a lower price from you than from your larger competition because they perceive you as having less overhead, etc. On the other hand, cheaper prices can evoke perceptions of lower quality, a less-stable business, etc. And if you compete on price against competitors with deeper pockets, you can price yourself right into bankruptcy. Be creative with this differentiator by competing on something other than straight price. For example, you might offer:
- More value--offer more products or services for the same price.
- Freebies --accessories, companion products, free upgrades, and coupons for future purchases.
- Free shipping, etc.--convenience sells, especially when it is free!
- Discounts--includes offering regular sales, coupons, etc. (see cautions above)
Focus Differentiation
For Solo Entrepreneurs, this is the most important method of differentiation, and in many ways, the easiest. Why? Because as a Solo Entrepreneur, you simply can't be everything to everybody, so you must pick a specific way to focus your business. Once you have done that, you have an automatic advantage over larger companies because you can become more of an expert in that one field --and you can build close relationships with key customers that will be hard to duplicate. For example, you might differentiate yourself through:
- Location--take advantage your closeness to prospective customers.
- Customer specialization--be very specific about what characteristics your customers will have—for example, racing bicycle enthusiasts or companies with a spiritual conscience.
- Customer relationships--know customers really well, form partnerships with them, and get them to speak for you!
- Affinity relationships--associate your product/service with a well-known person or organization.
- One-stop shopping--offer everything your target market needs, in your area of expertise.
- Wide selection (within your niche
01.Sometime back this author had written an article titled “ Are your employees leaving the organizations in disgust? Apply Change Management practices”. While discussing about the various aspects of Change Management concepts, it is informed that the employees, for obvious reasons, generally dislike changes brought in by the management, as they do not like to come out of the existing practices.This article makes an attempt to demystify the resistance to changes by the employees, besides explaining why do they develop such resistance to changes .It is also discussed that how this issue can be resolved and how to make use of their resistance to maximize the working results of the organization, while proceeding with the change efforts.02.Reactions to Change.The resistance to change is purely a psychological concern only. They are concerned with their sa
Customer Service Differentiation
Price Differentiation
Differentiating on price is probably the most common and easily understood method. HOWEVER, for Solo Entrepreneurs, caution is in order. On the one hand, potential customers might expect a lower price from you than from your larger competition because they perceive you as having less overhead, etc. On the other hand, cheaper prices can evoke perceptions of lower quality, a less-stable business, etc. And if you compete on price against competitors with deeper pockets, you can price yourself right into bankruptcy. Be creative with this differentiator by competing on something other than straight price. For example, you might offer:
- More value--offer more products or services for the same price.
- Freebies --accessories, companion products, free upgrades, and coupons for future purchases.
- Free shipping, etc.--convenience sells, especially when it is free!
- Discounts--includes offering regular sales, coupons, etc. (see cautions above)
Focus Differentiation
For Solo Entrepreneurs, this is the most important method of differentiation, and in many ways, the easiest. Why? Because as a Solo Entrepreneur, you simply can't be everything to everybody, so you must pick a specific way to focus your business. Once you have done that, you have an automatic advantage over larger companies because you can become more of an expert in that one field --and you can build close relationships with key customers that will be hard to duplicate. For example, you might differentiate yourself through:
- Location--take advantage your closeness to prospective customers.
- Customer specialization--be very specific about what characteristics your customers will have—for example, racing bicycle enthusiasts or companies with a spiritual conscience.
- Customer relationships--know customers really well, form partnerships with them, and get them to speak for you!
- Affinity relationships--associate your product/service with a well-known person or organization.
- One-stop shopping--offer everything your target market needs, in your area of expertise.
- Wide selection (within your niche
Advice on investments can be found on the Internet or at a local brokerage firm. Many choose to invest on their own to save money by using a discount broker, reducing your transaction costs. Discount brokerage houses are set up just to carry out a trade, but do not give advice.If you decide to do-it-yourself, you can go on the Internet and get advice for a small fee at a few sites. Then continue the trade through a discount brokerage house. In other words, an investment online site will give you a financial profile for a fee and they will give you a plan and recommendations on stocks and bonds. They will monitor your portfolio and give recommendations when to buy and sell when necessary.One such advisory is www.createafund.com. It charges an upfront annual management fee of 1% on your capital. For this you get a plan prepared by a financial planner that allo
- Freebies --accessories, companion products, free upgrades, and coupons for future purchases.
- Free shipping, etc.--convenience sells, especially when it is free!
- Discounts--includes offering regular sales, coupons, etc. (see cautions above)
Focus Differentiation
For Solo Entrepreneurs, this is the most important method of differentiation, and in many ways, the easiest. Why? Because as a Solo Entrepreneur, you simply can't be everything to everybody, so you must pick a specific way to focus your business. Once you have done that, you have an automatic advantage over larger companies because you can become more of an expert in that one field --and you can build close relationships with key customers that will be hard to duplicate. For example, you might differentiate yourself through:
- Location--take advantage your closeness to prospective customers.
- Customer specialization--be very specific about what characteristics your customers will have—for example, racing bicycle enthusiasts or companies with a spiritual conscience.
- Customer relationships--know customers really well, form partnerships with them, and get them to speak for you!
- Affinity relationships--associate your product/service with a well-known person or organization.
- One-stop shopping--offer everything your target market needs, in your area of expertise.
- Wide selection (within your niche
Today’s workforce faces a multitude of pressures: deadlines, office politics, nonproductive meetings, conflict, job ambiguity, miscommunication, increased workload, inadequate resources, customer complaints and long hours. . . to name just a few. On-the-job stress can be quite costly, too, because it often results in increased absenteeism, reduced efficiency, low morale, reduced effectiveness, and high staff turnover.Researchers have discovered that since 1965 the overall stress levels in the U.S. have increased nearly 50%, and it is estimated that 75-90% of all office visits to health care professionals are for stress-related symptoms and disorders.We know that a certain level of stress can be good. Stress actually improves performance by sharpening concentration, focusing attention and increasing motivation; however, when the threshold of optimum stress
- Location--take advantage your closeness to prospective customers.
- Customer specialization--be very specific about what characteristics your customers will have—for example, racing bicycle enthusiasts or companies with a spiritual conscience.
- Customer relationships--know customers really well, form partnerships with them, and get them to speak for you!
- Affinity relationships--associate your product/service with a well-known person or organization.
- One-stop shopping--offer everything your target market needs, in your area of expertise.
- Wide selection (within your niche)—although this one may seem to be the opposite of focus--the key is to be very specific in one dimension and very broad in another.
Product/Service Offering Differentiation
How much you are able to differentiate your product or service offering will vary based on what type of business you are in. For instance, if you are in a highly regulated business, your options may be limited. Explore a totally new market or type of product or service, however, and the possibilities abound. The key to successful differentiation in this category, again, is to know your customers, really, really well. Talk to them often, and you will know what they need most and be able to offer it, long before your competitors know what is happening. For example, your product or service could stand out in one of these ways:
- Quality--create a product or service that is exceptional in one or more ways. Examples: Lasts longer
- Better
- Easier to use
- Safer
- New/First--be the first one to offer something in your location/field.
- Features/Options--offer lots of choices, unusual combinations, or solve a problem for a customer in a way no one else does.
- Customization--as a Solo Entrepreneur, you may be able to more easily handle special orders than big, mass-market competitors.
Customer Service Differentiation
Have you noticed how customer service seems to be out of vogue these days? This situation makes excellent customer service a great opportunity for differentiation and another natural advantage for Solo Entrepreneurs that already know what’s important to their customers. Build your reputation on making customers feel really good about doing business with you. Works great with referral marketing, too. Examples:
- Deliver fast--next day, or one-hour--make it faster than customers think possible.
- Unique channel--offer a service over the phone or Internet instead of in person or in their office rather than yours.
- Service-delight customers!--it may seem expensive to offer exceptional service--but it pays off in word-of-mouth advertising.
- Before/during/after-sales support--provide technical or other support to customers using your product. You might use joint ventures to provide that support--but customers will perceive it as being from you!
- Guarantee/warranty--offer 100% money-back, or free replacement parts.
- YOU--offer yourself, your unique blend of talents and skills, to attract customers. Make sure they get access to you, too!
Keys to Successful Differentiation:
- Know your customers, really, really well.
- Pick a blend of differentiation methods that, in the eyes of your customers, truly sets you apart.
- Talk about your differentiation in terms of customer benefits.
- Tell everyone about what differentiates you--often.
- Keep your differentiation fresh by listening for changing customer needs.
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