When your prospective customer stares into the local paper, what do they see? They see a sea! A sea of products – what makes one ad stand out over another? What does one pediatric orthodontist offer over another? We’ve said it here before, but if they don’t immediately distinguish you from your competition on something specific, the natural default is:

PRICE. Ouch.

They go online or pick up the phone and ask “how much for an initial exam?” Unless you just love trying to lower your price again and again lower than your competition (ask yourself, “which one of us is going to go out of business first with this strategy?”), then why not determine another differentiator:

Special Offer: determine to be the ONLY one in town to offer something unique in conjunction with your product/service. I guess the oil change place down the street decided to set themselves apart – skipping over the “free car wash with oil change” and promotion “FREE BEER with OIL CHANGE.” I’ve never seen anyone else do that. And for some folks, that’s the only place they’ll go because they’ll wash their own car.

Extra Special Customer Service: I’ve mentioned before about the CPA who has his client’s cars detailed out in his parking lot when they come in for their annual review. No extra charge! You don’t think his clients don’t talk him up to their friends when they fret about talking taxes?! Even one automotive shop I know goes to great lengths to serve their customers by topping off all fluids, washing the outside, vacuuming the inside and so much more . . . all FREE. I’ve had my oil changed at a thousand lube shops and they don’t all provide these extra services. Stand out!

Amazing Guarantee: You’ve probably heard the commercial for LifeLock – the owner gives out his real Social Security Number on the air. Why? Because he’s confident enough in his service that even if you know (much less steal) his identify, he’ll be protected. That’s the WOW! factor at work.

Those are just a few. Throughout this week, we’ll share some more ways to differentiate yourself!

What are you doing that makes you UNIQUE? Care to share your story? What are some other examples?

-Randy

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