There are many businesses that offer similar services – design, legal, construction, retail, fast food, and quite a long list more. If there are two similar businesses – perhaps both sharing the same corporate name as in a franchise or licensed operation – why does one do better than the other? Is it location, the level of attention accorded the clientele, or product knowledge? Maybe it’s be something else entirely.
Whatever it is, and we certainly can and must determine what it is for our own business, people are looking do business with someone who treats them well, is knowledgeable, respects them, and makes them feel good about it.
People are looking for a reason to do business with us – unless we offer a price so low for an item that they can get elsewhere and all that matters it getting something they already know they want for a really good price. In most cases, price is only part of the formula for business success.
Regardless of the type of aging in place business we have, we need to determine what makes us special – to the point that people literally cannot get what we offer, in the manner in which we offer it, from anyone else. If we can’t think of anything that really separates, sets us apart, or differentiates us from our competition, or if we have to work real hard to come up with an answer to this question, how do we expect that our potential customers or clientele are going to be able to do so? If they can’t figure out why we are better to use than someone else, there is no special reason for them to do business with us.
There may be several companies and individuals in our marketplace offering remodeling or design services – even if most of them are not as skilled, well-trained, or experienced as we are in providing aging-in-place solutions. Our potential customer may not appreciate how we are different from the others they might consider or even select. We have to let them know.
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 such a decision is not in their long-term best interests. Saving a little money now or not getting a total solution will only frustrate them over time.
Even when there are other aging in place specialists in our market who are competing with us, there still needs to be something that can make us stand out as being different in the eyes of the consumer and within the marketplace. Otherwise, there is no overriding reason why someone should want to choose us over another company or provider. In essence, any company would be just as good as any other.
Whatever it is that we can say truly makes us special when we compare what we do or what we offer the consumer to other businesses in our area who offer similar services as we do, we need to begin conveying this message to our potential customers through our marketing message, website, social media profiles, and presentations. We can’t afford to let our customers try to figure out on their own why we are special and why they would want to work with us. We must help them see that this.
In expressing what we do that truly makes us different from anyone else, we should avoid using words or phrases that our competition can or does use to describe what they do. If we use them also to talk about what we do, then we haven’t created any separation or distinction in the marketplace. Let’s look for a truly special way of expressing just what makes us special and makes our potential customers want to select us because of this. Let’s give them a good reason to want to do business with us.