Pick me, Pick me! How to Stand Out from the Competition
By: MICHELLE JOHANSON

Look at the advertising in the phone directory or the newspaper and you'll see a pattern. The message isn't in these exact words - but this is basically what we're told over and over again.

"Use us - we're the best"

"Buy our product or service - it's better than the other guys"

"#1 in the industry"

"We are honest, dependable, really good at this, reasonably priced, have a good reputation ..."

The problem is, we haven't learned anything more about one company over another. Most of them say these things, and they don't back up what they say with examples or confirmation. We don't know what is fact and what is fiction.

Another problem with this type of marketing is that no trust is established. Developing the trust of your prospects might be the most important thing your marketing should accomplish. Your business is unknown and you are a stranger to your prospects. Help them get to know you - prove yourself so that your prospects feel comfortable.

And finally, these statements boost the ego of the company but do nothing to sway a prospect or stir them to take action.

When brainstorming your marketing slogan, design, and special offerings ... think like your customer. Step into their shoes and pretend that you are shopping for your particular product or service. Answer questions like "why should I trust you?" and "what are you going to offer me that will grab my attention?"

I opened my phone directory advertising randomly to the plumbing section. So here's the scenario. It's a Friday afternoon and we need a plumber. We can't run the water in our home. We don't know any plumbers, nor do we have friends or family that know a plumber. We are left to search the local newspaper, business phone directory, or online with the hope we choose a good one.

Recognition
The first item to sub-consciously draw our attention is familiarity. Perhaps we drive by a sign frequently and recognize the company in the listings; maybe we receive a flyer in the mail every so often from the local plumber and see him listed here; or he is commonly included in the Contractors section of the newspaper. If we are familiar with a company, even the slightest, with no negative connotations, that company just inched higher than the others in our selection process.

What's in it for me?
The next thing we're looking for, again sub-consciously, is something that speaks to us; that exceeds our expectations; solves our problem as we would prefer; gives us something we really like, want, or have to have. Looking in my phone directory, I see that the majority of the ads say things like:

"Quality full service plumbing"

"Call your neighborhood expert"

"Professional ... Dependable ... Honest"

"Trusted and Recommended"

"Metro-Wide Service"

"Emergency Service"

Almost all of them offer emergency service. That's important to tell prospects, but it shouldn't be a main selling point because it's too common; or it should be changed in some way to stand out. None of these companies stand out. None of them are unique. None of them make us pick up the phone and call. Shouldn't we expect what they are offering? Would we hire a plumber who wasn't an expert, professional, dependable, honest, trusted ...? Would we want a plumber who didn't provide quality service? There's no real value here for us.

Out of ten pages of plumbing ads, only four of them catch our eye.

"Lifetime Guarantee on Plumbing Repairs"
Maybe all of the plumbers offer this, but if they didn't say so, we don't know it. If all plumbers don't offer this benefit, then this particular company has found something unique, special, and appealing to their customers.

"Satisfaction guaranteed. If you are unhappy with the repairs for any reason, we will redo the work for FREE!"
This is impressive. Only one plumbing contractor out of at least fifty have offered us this benefit.

"Call 24 Hours. No extra charge for emergency or rush service."
A handful of plumbers offered 24 hour service, but only one stated they don't charge for rush or emergency service. See how this company changed their Emergency Service feature to stand out and be of benefit to their customers? However, we are a little skeptical that perhaps they jack up all of their pricing to compensate for this benefit, but we can solve that problem by getting quotes from more than one company. This sounds good, especially in our predicament with it being a Friday afternoon.

"All calls answered by professional staff"
Again, maybe the majority of plumbing companies provide this service, but if they didn't say so, we don't know it. Frustrating memories of dealing with untrained or unknowledgeable employees at various companies in the past makes this statement pleasing.

It sure didn't take long for us to narrow down ten pages of advertising to four companies, one of which we are familiar with through their mailings.

Price
Price is definitely one of the biggest concern's to a customer. But it is not necessarily what we look for first. It's usually the deciding factor after all other items of importance have been weighed. Amongst the plumbing ads, we see a lot of:

"Low rates"

"Reasonable Rates"

"Free Estimates"

"Affordable Prices"

"Ask about our reasonable flat fees"

Again, we haven't gleamed any new information - no company has elevated itself over the other in our minds. These statements could mean anything! We are not really motivated to call any of them. But there are a few who get our attention:

"Mention this ad after you receive your estimate and get 10% off!"
The fact that they tell us to ask for our discount after we receive our initial estimate is genius. It takes away our doubt that they might raise their pricing to compensate for the markdown.

"Senior discount"
Even if we're not seniors yet ourselves, we can appreciate the fact that this company is considerate of the senior population.

"Free preventative maintenance program with any repair"
This is different. No one else is offering it. We don't know much about the plumbing in our home so a little free education and advice from a professional is welcome.

"Reasonable rates" and "Low pricing" sounds good, but it is not descriptive enough and there are too many companies offering the exact same thing. The three companies above separate themselves from the pack with creative price incentives.

Prove it
Most of these plumbing ads say things like "fast service", "rapid response", or "best guarantee in town". How do we separate fact from fiction?

For example, one ad states "Call your neighborhood expert!". Normally, we would blow that off. Many of them make this claim. But this company backs it up by listing, count them, 32 different suburbs and corresponding phone numbers. Not one location serving a large area, but 32 different locations serving their immediate area. This company proved their 'neighborhood' status.

If one of the many companies backed up their claim of fast service by stating something like:
"Our average response time in 2005 was 96 minutes serving a 150 mile radius." or "$100 off all services if we don't arrive within 120 minutes of your call.", that would get our attention, leaving all of the other so-called "fast service" companies in the dust.

When your marketing includes a blanket statement that could apply to any other company - (remember, you are a stranger to your prospects and they don't know what you know about your competition) - be sure to provide detail to demonstrate or verify your claim and gain your prospects' trust.

If we were actually hiring a plumber, we would most likely call our top two or three choices and let price, response time, and customer service over the phone be our deciding factors. But just think of all the losers ... out of ten pages of ads ... that are probably excellent companies with poor marketing tactics.

In your own marketing, strive to accomplish these four things:

Recognition
For example, establish familiarity with consistent mailings. This means mailing out a professional looking postcard or other piece at regular intervals. And it also means keeping the look of your mailing pieces consistent so they become instantly recognizable to the recipients. Achieve this with color, your logo and its placement, layout and design, typefaces, and the type of piece you are mailing.

Use consistency in every aspect of your marketing - from business cards to letterhead to envelopes to invoices to estimates to email to any other marketing literature or promotions you offer. You want your prospects to recognize your materials just as your customers would recognize you!

What's in it for me?
Provide a benefit that really stands out - that no one else in the business is offering and that answers your prospects' biggest question: what's in it for me. If you don't know what your customers want ... you'd better find out! Ask them what is important to them when discussing a project or providing a free estimate. Mail out surveys when a project or purchase is completed.

Price
Offer a unique price incentive. It doesn't need to be worth a lot of money - just creative, interesting, irresistible. It's pretty easy ... and boring and basic ... to offer 10% off or $25 off.

Prove it
Back up your claims with details. If you want your prospects to trust you and believe you, give them some facts to chew on.

Michelle Johanson
Copyright 2007
Projects Plus LLC
Data Entry Home Business.com

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