Why aren’t companies bolder to differentiate themselves?
Once again, this morning, I came across a website for a digital (pharma/healthcare) agency. And, once again, there was the familiar list of bullet points, similar to this:
- Digital Strategy
- Web Analytics
- Creative Services
- Digital Sales Aids
- Audio/Video Aids
- eLearning
- E-Mail Marketing
- Microsites, Campaign and Brand Websites
- HCP Social Media
- Medical Animation
- Mobile/iPad Development
- Application Development
- Web Development
- Social Media
- SEO/SEM
It could have been any of a number of such firms, because most of them claim to do – well, everything. Just like all the others.
Yes, I understand that agencies want to give the impression of being a one-stop shop so more marketing dollars can flow into their coffers. You’re afraid to miss out on some piece of work because the net is not wide enough. So you do bullet-point marketing. But at what price?
You’re now just like everyone else. “Will Work for Revenue.” There’s a biz-ugly word for that: Commodity.
In my Vendor Selection workshop, I show a web page with a very similar “we do it all” bullet point approach to training solutions. It’s disingenuous, really. Nobody does 10-12 disparate things well. And customers instinctively know it.
I’ll tell my pharma clients the dirty little secret: vendors may be ABLE to do 5-10 things, but typically, they’re going to do 1-2 things really well. That’s the differentiator. And, when doing clarity consulting with small companies and individuals, I say the same thing. Narrow your message down to your uniqueness; don’t broaden it to everyone else’s generalities.
It’s actually quite a liberating experience to move away from the broad message, where you’re competing with everyone; and instead, defining and promoting your unique offering.
It’s best not to lead with the 5-10 things. Clients cannot remember you for that – you will be dumped right into the commodity bin of their memory banks, soon to be deleted. Instead, lead with your tangible, demonstrable differentiator and build your message around that. Become a trusted supplier of something you excel at, and maybe the door will open later to some of the other things that you do.
“We’ll Do Whatever!” is not a message that sets you apart in the minds of your clients. Focus. Differentiate. De-commoditize.
Unlike everybody else!
Great points Steve. Differentiation is key. You need to focus on standing out in a sea of sameness.
And, I’m sure you’d agree, Stan – the noise level just keeps getting higher. Isn’t it fun when you find the great differentiator for a company and a brand and help re-shape their go-to-market approach?
I think there is a fear of being too dis-similar. There is being “in the box’ and being “out of the box” but you can’t have it both ways…..but we try, don’t we??? Great points…..thanks
Jerry, I think in many ways we’re “trained” to fit in – it’s a huge step to leave the box behind and trust that our value is found outside of it!
Dare to be bold. It’s provocative and empowering. It’s also so super scary to agencies that they don’t even muster an attempt. The notion of truly disrupting how you position yourself and promote yourself, should be taken on as a regular part of business planning. Those bulleted lists are not just cobbled together, they are built year over year that they become an invisible brand legacy; which becomes chains to conform.
Imagine the creativity that could be unleashed if more agencies first knew and secondly embraced their true core competency and then leveraged the hell out of it.
Well said, Marian. It does take some courage to disrupt ourselves, doesn’t it? :>}
In addition to sounding phony, I think the “everything” list also makes one sound a little desperate. What’s funny is that a marketing agency would market themselves in a way they wouldn’t for a client. What’s that poster you have? “You can’t read the label of the jar you’re in” ??
Joe, I’m afraid it’s extremely common – let’s throw a bunch of capabilities spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks. The spray and pray approach really needs to be thrown out the window in favor of some courageous and frank positioning.
Joe makes a good point. Why not throw in proofreading? Wouldn’t want to miss any of that business. The success of Apple has shown that concentration on core competencies can pay off handsomely. Their products command a premium in an industry that has become highly commoditized. They have revolutionized the music industry, yet they don’t make music. They don’t do games and they write very few apps. They don’t even invent new devices. They just take existing products and make them insanely better.
And cupcakes. Don’t forget cupcakes.
Nice. Good point. As I’ve always put it: there’s reason there’s no Jack of All Trades section in the phone book. Pick a section Jack!
Older post on this: http://www.begtodiffer.com/2010/01/pick-a-section-jack/