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Differentiation - the Key to Business successLearning Guide

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Differentiation

dif·fer·en·ti·a·tion, n

Definition: That which makes you different from everyone else and why customers should buy from you and not your competitor.


What Role do you play in the minds of your existing and potential customers? Do you stand out against the competition?

Imagine that the mind is like a room for file cabinets. Each one of the drawers is labeled with something of interest, something of need, or even the name of a problem.

The ideal situation is for you to be the ONLY file folder in that drawer. This is acheived through DIFFERENTIATION.

Two Keys:

1) You have to actually BE different

2) You have to be able to communicate that difference to your target audience

If you are the only file folder in that drawer, then your customers are going to pull your folder out and call you to fulfill their current interest or need.

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Find the zest in your “est” and you will begin to identify your differentiation. Is your business the fastest? The easiest? The coolest?

• Can you prove it? Perhaps with a comparison demo? • Is your “est” creating positive word-of-mouth that can turn into key sponsors?

Next: Can you convince your target audience that you can deliver on that differentiation?

One of the key things you need to consider in your particular area, is if there is somebody with what I call the...

“Already Own with Big Bucks Theory.”

Here’s the way it works; there are certain niches in the world where there is somebody in the marketplace that already owns that marketplace and they’ve got bigger bucks than you do. You have two choices:

Find your own niche within that marketplace or EXIT.

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Climb the Scale of Differentiation...

Learn where to put your energy for the highest probability of success...

Demonstrate your “est” in comparison to others

Find a competitive distribution advantage (although expensive and difficult) or utilize recommending industry associate

Launch an expensive advertising campaign (if you have wide profit margins) and dominate the marketplace

Offer unique packaging or pricing structure (but subject to sustainability risk and competitor knock-offs)

BESTProduct Based

SECOND BESTDistribution based

THIRD BESTPromotion based

WORSTPrice and/or Packaging based

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©2012 Breakthrough Consulting, Inc. All rights reserved. Distibution strictly prohibited.©2012 Breakthrough Consulting, Inc. All rights reserved. Distibution strictly prohibited.

High and Low Pricing

There is a high and low cost competitor in every niche. Which type of pricing is best for you? Let’s compare the + / - of each.

First of all, the stupidest thing you can do is to underprice your products or services. Here’s the key: it’s not a price issue it’s a value issue. It’s not how much you charge for your products or services; it’s how much VALUE YOU GIVE that makes it WORTH THE PRICE YOU ASK.

High Cost Pricing $$$• Better results• Highly differentiated• More of what they want: money,

health, weight loss, association with others who give them what they want

• Positioning in their customer’s minds Make it a hobby to study the high-cost players in all markets. They have a tendency to get more of what they do want and less of what they don’t want. (hassles, lawsuits, wasted resources, etc.)

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Low Cost Pricing $• ‘Turn the shelves’ quickly• Sustainability risks• New low-cost competitors emerge and dominate• Going out of business


Size of Market Did you know? It costs just as much to run an X-size business as a 10X size business.

When doing competitive research...Find ‘specific search terms’ to your particular niche that

have tens of thousands of hits and ‘related search terms’ that have thousands of hits. (Exception: highly intense small marketplace with low support requirements.)

The Ideal FormulaFind at least 5 specific terms with over 100,000 searches. This formula will yield you at least 500,000 searches to add to your research!

The Minimal FormulaFind at least 10 specific terms with over 3000 and at least 5 related concepts with 3000. This formula will yield you at least 45,000 searches to add to your research!

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The Differentiation Model is the core of building a business based upon your differentiation capabilities. Navigate this model like a grid to identify which of the four scenarios match your business. Print and post your scenario on your wall for daily reference.

STRONG DIFFHIGH TRAFFIC

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STRONG DIFFLOW TRAFFIC

WEAK DIFFHIGH TRAFFIC

WEAK DIFFLOWTRAFFIC

KEY

©2012 Breakthrough Consulting, Inc. All rights reserved. Distibution strictly prohibited. 8

STRONG DIFFHIGH TRAFFIC

• Sell your own stuff• Launch product/service• Marketing strategies: advertising (PPC), JV’s, SEO


• Sell your own stuff• Launch product, Niche strategy• Marketing strategies: PPC, namesqueeze, SEO

STRONG DIFFLOW TRAFFIC


WEAK DIFFHIGH TRAFFIC

• Sell other people’s stuff• Adsense, sell reprint rights, reviews, JV• Marketing strategies: SEO, JV’s cross-promote (don’t spend money),

portal, multiple sites


Walk. No, RUN AWAY!

WEAK DIFFLOWTRAFFIC


Want to plan your future differentiation? Powerful questions | Honest answers required Positioning: If I sold my business today, what would the new owner do first to pay back his investment as fast as possible? So, why don’t I just apply that same way of thinking now? Am I willing to watch my competitor and do what they won’t?

Resources: How can I get other people to do the work that never gets done, but which would build my business if it was done? How can I get other people to do the work I’m doing that prevents me from getting the other important work done?

Revenue: What is the fastest way that I can build huge numbers of pages with real content? What other ways can I monetize my existing sites? How can I ‘play Monopoly’ online? (own huge chunks of the market so most customers flow through me somehow)

Expert Status: How can I achieve guru status to differentiate myself in the eyes of other people? What ‘low-hanging fruit’ am I ignoring? (relationships I could create or key customers I could get in another marketplace)

Closed-minded Mentality: Am I whining like a victim and making excuses? Am I willing to do what it takes to change my closed-minded behavior into a positive and assertive one? What seeds could I be planting for tomorrow instead? What am I doing today to still have a business when/if my current model crashes?

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Using the honest answers you gave to those powerful questions, CREATE AN ACTION PLAN. Your action plan should focus on specifics. Include desired changes, how you’re going to achieve them, when you want to complete them, and any risks that might keep you from reaching your goals.

You now have all the tools to go out there and make yourself different than the competition. Give people a reason to buy from you, not your competitor. Figure out a way to demonstrate that value to others—to communicate it—and to build your entire marketing strategies around it. Apply these approaches and you will have success in reaching your goals.

“Just go do this stuff!”

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D 7 +( (< 72 BI66 6 Learning GuideThey have a tendency to get more of what . they do want and less of what they don’t want. (hassles, lawsuits, wasted resources, etc.) ... Navigate