Why differentiation is critical
Let’s say you’ve got a meeting next week with a brand-new hot prospect, someone you’ve never met before. Guess what’s the number one, bottom-line question they will have on their minds…
“What’s different about these guys?”
They will want to know if you’re any different than the other vendors they already know or are using. Does anything make you special? And, unfortunately, until that question gets answered, you might be just wasting your time.
To change vendors, they need a good reason
Most prospects already have a set of vendors that they’ve checked out and are working with. And for most technology firms, changing a vendor is usually a big deal. Not fun to do. Certainly not something they want to undertake unless there’s a very good reason.
And that’s why, statistically, most prospects will end up sticking with their current vendors. Unless you can differentiate yourself from the field,..
What exactly does it take to differentiate yourself?
A lot of smaller technology companies mistakenly think that in order to win, they need to prove that they’ve got the “best” product, hands down. But that’s not true. I wrote an article on this topic that many find helpful. (See the article.)
The fact is, there are literally hundreds of viable ways to differentiate your product/company and stand out from the field. What will work best for you will depend on your specific competitive environment, and it will require careful and creative evaluation of the options you may be able to use. But in any event, right at the outset, you will need to get rid of the “loser” ideas that can’t possibly work.
“Differentiation” strategies that don’t stand a chance
In order to work, a differentian position can never be based on generic “sales boilerplate.” Like, “We really care about our customers.” Or, “We really do work harder to build a better product.” Or, “We use only the most advanced technology or finest materials.” Or any of the other automatic and meaningless statements that are no longer even taken in, much less believed, by most prospects today.
To really be effective, a differentian position needs to be fresh, strong, specific, and fundamentally credible. Done right, it can make you stand out as one of a kind. Done wrong, it can make you look unprofessional – like a sales guy talking to himself.
Doing differentiation right
Strong, intelligent differentiation is the heart of the tech marketing science we’ve developed and refined here for over 40 years. So, we’ve gotten fairly good at putting it to work for our clients. Perhaps we could do the same for you. Give us a call...