Page 45 - Duct Tape Marketing

Duct Tape Marketing

Ways to Capture a Difference

There are many tried-and-true ways that a small business can approach
claiming a unique point of difference. In some cases you may already
possess a unique position and simply need to identify and communicate
it via a core message. Some businesses, however, find that they need to
make a considerable shift in their business, products, services, or busi-
ness model in order to create some element of their business that allows
them to stand out in a way that is significant to a specific market.

A home remodeling client of mine found that they had trouble
competing on higher-end work. They did higher-end work, but they
also did handyman-type work. They were seen as more of a construc-
tion business than the design-oriented remodeling business desired
by the upper-end buyer. Once they fully understood the distinction
the market was making, they changed their name to more accurately
appeal to the upper-end client and started referring the fix-it type jobs
to a network of referral partners. In less than a year they completely
changed the market’s view of the type of work they did best, and they
no longer had trouble competing for the most profitable work.

It’s worth noting here that being different for difference’s sake
isn’t enough. An identifiable target market must value the difference
for it to be a candidate for your core message.

One of my favorite ways to create a unique difference is to offer an
astonishing guarantee. Can you offer a guarantee so strong that no one
else in your industry would dream of doing it? The use of a guarantee
as a way to reduce a potential buyer’s risk has long been employed by
savvy marketing people. In some circles, a guarantee has become a
required aspect of the sales process.

But what if you did more? What if you created a guarantee that
did far more than simply warranty satisfaction or guarantee “risk-
free” shopping? What if you created a guarantee that was astonishing?

What’s an astonishing guarantee? It’s one that makes you nervous

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