Ask a company what makes them different from their competitors, and you'll probably hear some familiar answers.
"We have the best customer service."
"Our people really care."
"We've been in business for 40 years."
Those are all good things. They're also things your competitors are probably saying. And even if they're true, are they the reasons customers choose you?
Put Your Differentiators to the Test
Here's a simple exercise. Write down three things you believe make your company different. Then put each one through a few questions.
Is it really different? If your competitors can make the same claim, it's probably not a differentiator. At least not the way you're describing it.
Does it matter to your customers? You might be proud of your technology or decades of experience, but customers may care more about how easy you are to work with.
Can you prove it? Anyone can claim great service. What do you actually do that makes your service better? Think about specific practices, customer experiences, or results that support your claim.
If you're having trouble answering these questions, don't panic. You're certainly not alone. But you might have some work to do.
Now Ask Your Customers
Don't rely entirely on what people inside your company think. Talk to customers, especially those who recently chose you over someone else.
Ask what influenced their decision. What stood out during the buying process? What has surprised them about working with you? And pay attention to the words they use. You might discover that what customers value most isn't something you've been promoting at all.
This is an important part of how we approach brand development. We start by understanding what a company believes makes it different, then compare that with what we hear from customers. Sometimes everyone is on the same page. Other times, what we hear from customers makes us rethink what we thought we knew.
Our job is to make sense of those insights, identify what truly sets the company apart, and translate that into positioning and messaging that gives customers a reason to choose them.
Make Your Differences Matter
You don't need a long list of reasons your company is great. You need a few compelling reasons customers should choose you.
And those reasons should come from more than what you believe about your business.