Ever ask yourself what makes you so special – professionally, that is, and in a market segmentation or customer appeal sense? If you can’t think of anything that really separates, sets you apart, or differentiates you from your competition, or if you have to work real hard to come up with something, how do you expect your potential consumer to be able to do so?
Because there are a lot of companies and individuals offering remodeling or design services – even if some of them are not as skilled as you are in providing aging in place solutions – your potential customer may not appreciate how you are different from the others.
Customers want results and may select the lowest price or the quickest solution from someone who offers a solution reasonably close to what they think they want – or perhaps what they are convinced they need – without really understanding that you may offer a much more strategic approach to meeting their needs.
Even when there are other aging-in-place specialists competing with you for a particular customer’s attention, there still needs to be something that makes you different in the eyes of the consumer and within the marketplace. Otherwise, there is no overriding reason why someone should choose you over another company or provider. In essence, any company would be just as good as any other.
Since that likely isn’t true, how do you set yourself apart from the crowd? Start by looking at your vision. Are you conveying your real purpose and passion to your potential customers? Do you have any special credentials other than your CAPS that helps to distinguish you from others in your marketplace? Is it the length of time you’ve been in business, the number of clients served, the number of successful solutions created, or your history that makes you special and sets you apart from others in your market that offer similar services?
Whatever it is that truly makes you so special when compared to others who offer similar services as you, determine what it is and then begin conveying your message to your potential customers through your marketing message, your website, your social media profiles, and your presentations. Don’t rely on your customers to try to figure out why you are special. Help them see that you are.
Also, don’t rely on words or phrases that your competition can also use. You may know what you mean when you say that you create value or provide quality work, buy virtually anyone else can say the same thing. Such claims do not offer the separation you are looking for when compared with your competition. Look for a truly special way of expressing just what makes you special and makes your potential customer want to select you for that reason.