Differentiate or Die: A iAmNameLess request

5 replies
This post is in response to iAmNameLess to a post I made about one way
to deal with a pesky competitor.

The headline came from the book of the same title

Differentiate or Die
By Jack Trout
2001

"Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith, and perseverance to
create a brand."-David Ogilvy

"In today's ultra-competitive world, the average supermarket has 40,000 brand items on
its shelves."

I pulled those 2 quotes because 13 years since the book was written
about the ultra-competitive world of business.

This means we need to be aware of the tools at our disposal to counter those gunning for our profits.

If you think others will sit by as you take their profits,
then you are in for a rude awakening.

One tool is to document our own way of doing things within the business.
When prospects see it, then they feel safer their desired outcome is not left to chance.

If a business can tell you in fine detail what is done to deliver the product or service and the competitors don't, then they are seen as inferior.

Not only that, you can have a strong case for trademarking your methodology name ,
if done right. Now you have legal protection for your advantage.

Nice!

So here's an example from Toyota...


160 Point Inspection | Certified Used Toyota



Note the reassuring language used...

Toyota used car inspection before listing for sale.
160-POINT INSPECTION

"We check 160 points. All to prove one point: Only the best get to be Toyota Certified
Used Vehicles."

"160-point Quality Assurance Inspection"

"That means you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with owning a Toyota Certified
Used Vehicle."

After documenting your method, you could say, as an example..."Here are 7 steps in our proprietary 141 Red Carpet Program to insure you get [ultimate result].
To see the other 134,[list call to action]

Here's a guide to create your own.

Write down what you already do when you take on a customer/client.

The starting point may even be when you inspect the prospects situation
to see if you can help, offer advice even if you believe they are not a good match.

Sometimes it could be that you are doing virtually the same thing everybody else does,
but the prospects have no clue what detail you all take.

If you are the first to tell this, then you have the advantage because you can use it to prove
a point that you care about consistent experiences of buyers.By implication, the others don't.

An example who used this was Schiltz beer.
They told of the cleaning process and the mother yeast cell.
At the time other beer breweries did the same thing, but the public didn't know this.

Their market share jumped from this one initiative.

The gold could be sitting in your head.

You haven't recognized it's there and now it can seem a little daunting on
how you recall and record what you actually do for clients and customers.

You know the big things you do, but for this to work, you have to break everything down to baby steps.
Click on the links on the Toyota page and see how they've made it work.

In other consumer markets we know, Coke has their secret mix.

KFC and Colonel Sanders has their secret herbs and spices.

Having a proprietary secret elevates you, your business and brand
above others. They can't copy it as it is legally protected.

Just another tool to keep you growing without the burden of competitors.

Best,
Ewen
#die #differentiate #iamnameless #request
  • Profile picture of the author isaacsmithjones
    Cool, Ewen.

    Thanks for the reminder. Much like the Schlitz Beer ad by Claude Hopkins, where he speaks about the purification process...

    All of the beer companies had pretty much the same process, but these guys were the first ones to glorify and talk about it.

    Schlitz Beer Ad
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Awesome... The original post that really stuck out to me was this:

    Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

    One way to differentiate yourself is to come up with
    a proprietary X Point methodology on the way you do things.

    When you break something down into the steps you take,
    prospects see that the outcome doesn't happen by chance,
    therefore there seems less risk in taking you on compared to the rest.


    Advertise it and copyright it.

    Best,
    Ewen
    Definitely something I'm not doing but will be incorporating very soon. Something so simple, but not done by most. It's not just a way to deal with competitors, but something that I think would increase conversions too.
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      Awesome... The original post that really stuck out to me was this:



      Definitely something I'm not doing but will be incorporating very soon. Something so simple, but not done by most. It's not just a way to deal with competitors, but something that I think would increase conversions too.
      Yes I believe this is what converts them to you...

      "prospects see that the outcome doesn't happen by chance,
      therefore there seems less risk in taking you on compared to the rest."

      It provides a demonstration of one's competency rather than mere words.

      When money is about to change hands, the seller not only has to flame the desire
      but also in equal amounts, allay any fears.

      Working on the fear of doing business with you is the most fertile ground
      to play in, in today's lack of trust market.

      Best,
      Ewen
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  • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
    Dan Kennedy suggests this in one of his no BS marketing books, don't have time to look through to see which one , make your processes clear and accessible to prospects/clients so they know what to expect next through steps A-Z etc at all stages of the process(es)

    eg after 3 days you will get this, 5 days this, 7 days we will visit to discuss XYZ, by 14 days you should be getting calls from our ads, etc etc
    Signature

    Mike

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  • Profile picture of the author joe golfer
    Good stuff. Nice to see a modern version of the Schlitz story, which is repeated ad infinitum.

    This guy put a twist on it by making a cheeky video ostensibly showing his competitors how to nick his own product. In the process, he demonstrates in detail why his product is so much better than cheaper versions and worth the considerable investment.

    http://www.warriorforum.com/copywrit...k-off-bag.html
    Signature
    Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
    - Jack Trout
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