Day 14: How to differentiate yourself in a flooded market
This question was originally asked by a financial planner. For those who don’t know much of the financial planning industry, it is tightly regulated to help protect the population from fraudulent or, well, dumb financial planners.
So the end result is that you end up with a ton of people who essentially have the same service and product offering. So being different in that type of industry is incredibly difficult.
Coach Powell had a wonderful answer to this question which I’m going to post up tomorrow (yes, I said tomorrow. I’m putting the answers a little bit closer to the posts). Until the answer goes up though, what are some things that you have done to be different in your own industry? Maybe your industry isn’t flooded like this woman’s was, but there is almost always competition 
. Why do you stand out? And can you sum it up quick enough to catch people’s attention?
I know my differentiation, it is right in my tag-line for my computer repair business. I help you love your computer again.
That gets people’s attention .
Hit us up in the comments below . Why are you different from all the other people in your industry?
Join the revolution!
-Coach Kolansky
My clients tell me what makes me different than all the other accountants in my area is the fact that I take the time to get to know them and their business. They also appreciate the fact that I can look them in the eye and say, “I don’t know for sure, but I can get the answer.” They like that I talk to them in terms they can understand and educate them on the hows and whys of what I do. Most of my testimonials praise me on my accuracy and knowledge, open communication, personal service and follow up, meeting the dealine promised, and taking the time to ask questions and provide them with useful information that was not provided by their accountants in the past.
This reminds me that I need to get testimonials from my latest batch of clients.
My service isn’t saturated (doesn’t seem to be, anyway), but my product is. Anyone can go online to make their own photo books. But my clients get ME, my 20 years in journalism, my obsession with the written word and my guarantee that if they find an error in their product, their next book is free. The quality of my product, as well, far surpasses the competition in terms of durability, life expectancy and print excellence. Condensing that into a sentence is a little tough.
This is a very important subject now a days with all the layoffs, including mine. I believe everyone should have a solid marketing value proposition that articulates how he/she is different from the rest of the crowd. For me, regardless of the business or personal relationship, it is the willingness to truely listen to another person’s view point, provide honest feedback (regardless of whether it financially benefits me), candid insight, and applying innovation (thinking outside the box) with facts that support the statements. As the other comments indicate, it boils down to communication skills and honesty, coupled with a positive attitude and applying innovation.
I am in the financial services industry and it is ture that its difficult to differentiate your self when tons of people are doing the same thing. I am trying to find myself a niche which I can say is my forte. But right now I can myself a generalist. I shall put up another post when I do find my niche.
Hi, Zaina – I am in the financial services industry too, and I believe that being a generalist in this industry is the kiss of death. I would recommend that you find your passion and go after that segment of your business whether it be retirement planning, working with women, working with business owners, etc. No one will think of you if you don’t have a target market. It’s like the Mary Kay rep who wants to meet anyone with skin. This has been my experience; I wish that I had learned this sooner.
And whatever area you choose to specialize in, become an expert in that field. Learn everything you can about that one particular area of your business.