Authentic & Confident

Defining Brand You – Methods to Define your USP or Brand

If you want a defined presence in the marketplace and you are a small player there are many options for defining yourself as a Brand.   There are some high Powered Strategies and others which are still powerful but less reliable in the longer term.

High Powered Long-Term ‘Driver’ Strategies for Differentiating Yourself from your Competitors

Quality

There is no such thing as high or low quality.  Quality is doing what you say you’ll do with error free service and zero defects.  If you cannot guarantee ‘quality’, don’t trade on it, because, ultimately, quality is what the customer receives and ‘says it is’.  This can be found in service providers who are niche players in low volume, high margins offering excellent quality.

Superior Service

Quality is not just about product, but also service delivery.  It is about designing the organisation around matrix management so that all processes are customer facing and those who do not interact with the customer fully support those who do.  You have to ensure your processes and attitudes are resilient and robust.  The only way to do that is test them to the limit and adopt a ‘self critical’ attitude.

Authoritative and Reliable

The services you provide have to be repeatable every time a client or customer interacts with you.  You have to be acknowledged in the market place as the expert and your offerings have to be credible.

Speed

To us speed is the competitive differentiator.  It is no good having a quality product if responsiveness to customer enquires is poor.  General Electric, probably one of the world’s most successful organisation uses speed as their key differentiator.  Speed to market, speed of delivery and speed in implementing needed changes both in service delivery and in their own culture.  Speed with Quality will offer you high volumes and profits while your competitors are still thinking about the action they can take.

Tailored & Customised

Customisation is a very powerful option when others are providing similar services.  Tailoring your service to meet the specific needs of your customers will ensure you get repeat business.  Customers rarely want off the shelf packages – if they do, you are competing in a commodity driven market and your margins will remain low.  The only solution here is volume.

Common & Less Successful ‘Maintenance’ Strategies

People may take issue with my views here.  I accept that the strategies below do work – but in my experience sole reliance on these will put the future of the business at risk.  The element of choice for the business owner is much reduced.  These are what I call the ‘maintenance’ strategies – you have to pursue them, but should they become too dominant in your brand they will lead to failure.

Price

This is driving the market down so that the key differentiator is cost to the customer – this will kill your margins and, when too deep, these costs can ruin your business.  This has to be a last attempt to win volume business.  You are probably operating in a ‘cash cow’ or ‘dog’ market and your services will be treated as a commodity.

If your business is small and you have larger competitors, the result will be a price war. Larger players can afford to match or beat your prices in the short term and can easily force you out of the market long term.

Selection

This is applicable only to large players who can afford to provide a myriad of products, services and styles for their customers.  This organisation will dominate by their size and variety of options available and should not be confused with the unique tailored approach above.  Amazon are a good example as are Argos who can afford to commit to the logistics and supply chain commitments to make this happen.

Uniqueness

If your services are new and unique you will capture the marketplace but only in the short term if you fail to develop the long-term strategies highlighted above.  Being the ‘first provider’ may bestow benefits but sometimes those that follow on behind and compete with you can innovate on your product and incorporate speed or response.

Convenience

Placing your customers’ needs as a priority and organising things the way they prefer.  Many providers and suppliers to the big retail supermarkets have no option but to do exactly what the large Brands want them to do.  Although you will continue to transact business, unless you are in a sole supplier relationship, your business can be taken from you at any time.  You will continue to be inspected and checked and have a smaller range of choices in how you develop your relationship with your customer.  Although convenience is important – there are issues to be considered.

Rock Solid Guarantee

Tells the customer that you have the confidence in your services and products that they will do what you say they will.  However, building a reputation on the solidity of your product and refunding unhappy customers is not the greatest strategy to dominate the market if you rely on that solely.  It is a partial strategy for but one that people expect anyway.

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