I had a recent, hauntingly familiar, encounter with a Business Owner the other day. It sounded similar to many others I have had over the last decade about differentiation. Listen in…it might sound a little familiar…
ME: “So why exactly are you different from your competitors?”
OWNER: “Our people…blah, blah, blah; our products…blah, blah, blah; our pricing…blah, blah, blah” and some other things going on in the company.”
I can’t share the details to protect the company identity. (Everything he told me was essentially a “commodity” that could be easily copied or made better by his competitors or new entrants in the market. It was mostly “features and functions” about products and service with a sprinkle of the people thrown in for good measure. There was never a mention of the customer experience, simply that they strive to satisfy their customers and have a customer service department.)
ME: “So let’s make a deal today…write down a list for me of why you think you are different. Then hand it to me. I will go around and ask 5 random employees why you are different and check off the items you listed they told me as well. Then we’ll compare notes. If they get 90% of them correct, I will do your strategy session for you without charge. If they don’t, you pay me double…it’s a double or nothing deal…what do you say?”
OWNER: “No deal…I don’t think we’re in enough alignment for me to take that bet.”
ME: “No problem…I get that…thanks for being honest with me. I’ll make you an even better deal. We will go visit 5 of your best customers, the one that keep your business alive and do the same exercise. If they hit just 75% I will give you the same offer…double or nothing…what do you say?”
OWNER: “Still no deal…unfortunately, I don’t think our customers really understand or know what differentiates us from our competition…which is why we are feeling the pricing pressures from them and our customer turnover is too high.”
ME: “I get it…and thank you for being brutally honest about where you are as a company. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I don’t think you are alone as a business owner in this situation. Most business owners don’t really know what their true, hard core differentiators are that everyone knows about them. They might know their features and “what” they do, but they don’t really know what differentiates them in the eyes of their customers and even employees.”
OWNER: “That’s sad…but unfortunately very true. We are being commoditized…”
I share this dialog with you almost word-for-word to illustrate a key point I hear about ALL THE TIME…the lack of TRUE DIFFERENTIATION. Not the fluffy stuff, but true differentiation. And unfortunately, most the things that usually get mentioned are merely commodities waiting to be commoditized even more by the competition.
THE GOOD NEWS…it doesn’t have to be this way and there are lots of great companies out there with clear differentiation. They know it…they have internalized it…they live it…they are passionate about it…and their customers get it and love it. It’s never too late to start…it’s always Day One!
