In my last article I gave you a list of a few thought starters to help you come up with ideas to differentiate your business from the competition. Now, let me give you some examples and show how those thought starters are turned into special reasons by being meaningfully specific.

Instead of saying “We service everything”, try:

• “All makes and models… We service all makes and models regardless of their age so you can rest assured we can fix your problem. Although, if your machine is still under warranty, we recommend you call the manufacturer for their low cost or free service.”

And what about these?

• “No pressure… I’ll never put you under pressure. Most people, including me, absolutely hate being pressured into a decision. For example, the way car dealers and weight loss centres try to sell you. That’s why I’d never work like that. I simply see it as my job to show you the best dental care available and then I leave it to you to make a decision when you are ready.”
• “Time… We value your time. We guarantee that none of your time is wasted because we’ll always give you a call to let you know when we’re half an hour from your place. That means you don’t have to sit around waiting. You can even slip home from work just before we arrive.”
• Storage facilities… “Short or long-term, conventional or containerised, your possessions will be kept safe, secure, fumigated and protected by modern firefighting equipment in government approved storage facilities.”
• Solid experience… ”We know what we’re about and how to solve the challenges that can beat other technicians because, collectively, we have 40 years of experience in fixing even the toughest problems.”
• Our On-Time guarantee! “If we don’t provide our reports on time as promised, then you don’t pay. We can do everything any other Quantity Surveyor can do, but we guarantee our performance.”

These last two examples are actually small advertisements I wrote for an accountant and a lawyer and were run in local papers. They were very, very effective! (They’d work just as well as the words for the home page of their websites).

• “Being different… At last! An accountant who tells it simply and makes sense! That’s right, I’ll keep the tax man off your back, get your returns in on time, give you the figures you need and explain everything in plain and simple language. And, because I’ll show you how to use the magic of Xero to do your figures, your stuff won’t disappear into a black hole in my office or cost you a lot either.”
• “Why choose me… The lawyer you can trust. Here’s why: You don’t get messed around because I tell you your chances, give you a firm price quote and return phone calls promptly. I don’t charge like a wounded bull because I operate from my comfortable home office and can see you when it suits you. I handle most legal problems but will refer you to a specialist for family or criminal law. Quite simply, you get great legal advice from a lawyer you can trust.”

So, there we are. Just a sample of how to use meaningful specifics for a few businesses.

The way you can do this is to stop thinking like the person who owns or operates the business and think like a potential client, customer or patient. Have a look at what you do and ask yourself, “Do people understand this? Do they know that we do this? Have they heard about it? Can they see that we do this? What don’t they like about our sort of business?”

Then answer those sort of questions or explain it in simple language to create your three (or five) reasons why people would want to do business with you…

When you’re meaningfully specific about what differentiates you from your competitors you’ll find more people will choose to do business with you.

And, providing you deliver on your promises, when more people choose to do business with you, you are on your way to premature retirement on those beaches of the world!