It’s important to remember that there are a million others out there, selling the same product functionality in a slightly different shape or size. Customers care more about the benefit that your product can provide them. Or further, how their relationship with you, by extension of that product, can put them ahead for their own personal gain.
It means that your only way to win is to provide the lowest cost to your customer, forcing a pressure to constantly reduce your prices. This is a battle not often won with long-term loyalty, but instead one that deteriorates the value of your service to your customer.
You’re getting closer — closer to what it is that YOU uniquely provide in terms of a relationship. But it’s not just about “all-star customer service,” it’s also about the emotional gain one receives by choosing to engage in a partnership with you and your brand.
Most often, your B to B company is competing with a group of businesses that offer a similar range of services, with your leading competitors being those who offer it at similar rates to the same target audiences. However, an understanding of these surface level qualifications is not enough. A proper assessment of your competition includes the brand’s positioning and promise, as well as a deeper dive into the mindset of their customers. Auditing existing marketing materials, website content, design style and customer testimonials is a good place to start.
As the B to B market grows more crowded, there are many ways to distinguish yourself from your competitors. The first is to identify the whitespace (what your competitors are unable to provide to their consumers on a consistent basis), develop an opportunity map and find a unique way to fill that void. Another way is to conduct primary consumer research to identify a challenge they are facing in order to provide a viable solution to that challenge. Because, it’s not your price, product or service that makes you stand out, it’s finding a unique way to express your ability to solve their challenges better than any other service provider.
BrandJuice can help you more deeply understand your target and the challenges they face, strategically shift your position in the landscape, and more distinctly define the service you provide.