Three Ways to Make Your Business Different

In a crowded market, it’s really important to show your potential clients (and your competitors) what makes you different and better than the other businesses that do the same thing as you. You’ve probably heard of USPs (Unique Selling Propositions) and I’ve written before about emotional USPs on this blog.

Here’s another way of looking at how you can make your business stand out from the crowd. According to work done by Treacy and Wiersema there are three ways in which you can grow a business. (And thanks to Jonathan and Patrick at SR Consulting for sharing this with me.) All companies need to be able to do all three, to a certain extent; but in order to stand head and shoulders above your competitors, you need to specialise in one of the three.

Here’s a brief description of each:

• Operational ExcellenceThis is where you focus on keeping your costs as low as possible to attract customers. You follow the market’s direction rather than leading it and focus on providing a ‘no frills’ service. Think Asda and you’ll get the picture.

• Product LeadershipWith this strategy you’re offering the technically best product and you’re the first company to do it. You spend time inventing you products and services, and your profit margins are high because the risks are high. Apple is a great example of a Product Leader.

• Customer IntimacyYou offer the best total solution by being dependable and being responsive to the needs of your customers. You’ll do anything to satisfy you small set of customers as you believe they’re worth it. You’re prepared to invest time in build long term relationships with your customers. For Customer Intimacy think about the travel agent who knows the sort of holidays you like.

So which one are you? Do you stand out by offering lower cost products and services than your competitors? Are you different because of the new products and services that you create for your customers? Or do you have competitive advantage because you spend time really getting to know your clients?

When we took the test at Appletree, we scored 7 out of 30 for Operational Excellence (we’re certainly not the cheapest!), 14 out of 30 for Product Leadership (we change our services now and then) and a massive 27 out of 30 for Customer Intimacy (because we love our clients and we love looking after them!)

There’s no right or wrong way to build a business. None of these three methods is better than the others. What’s important is that you pick the one that works best for you and then focus on it until you excel at it.

Do you know which is your USP?