4 Powerful Keys to achieve a Relevant Differentiation in your Sales Strategies

It’s not a matter of being better at what you do — it’s a matter of being different at what you do (Michael Porter)

Many companies and products do not differentiate themselves, they all seem the same to us.

That’s why they end up suffering a lot.

They offer the same thing and customers go to the cheapest options.

In other words, if you offer more of the same, you end up competing just on price.

We enter the famous price wars, where no one wins (not even the end user or consumer)

In any case, sooner or later, the competition will make it cheaper.

But the customer who comes for price, goes for price.

The differentiation must be relevant, or it will not be so, we will not really differentiate ourselves.

To achieve a relevant differentiation, there are certain requirements that we have to meet:

1. The value of the difference is set by the customer.

We have to look for differential values and advantages, but they have to be those that the customer appreciates.

If the customer is not willing to pay for it, no matter how different it may be, it is not an added value, but quite the opposite.

The value of this differential is set by the customer.

It is therefore a matter of looking through the eyes of our customers, they are the ones who give the real value to our product and our differential value.

That is why it is essential to identify what really worries them, what they want, adapt to their demands and give it to them in a different way than the competition does.

2. Communicate the difference correctly.

We may believe that we are differentiating ourselves, but we are not.

What matters is how the clients perceive it.

The problem is often that you don’t communicate that difference well.

Explain to your customers why your product or service costs what it does.

It is a matter of knowing how to communicate this difference to customers and make them understand why it is preferable to that of competitors.

This communication should be done together with the brand image, so that the differential value and the brand define the position and competitive advantage in the market in the customer’s mind.

3. Building a long-term relationship.

Another key of the differentiation is that it must be able to build a long-term relationship with the customer to be relevant.

Generally the relationship we build is based on price, highlighting that we have a very good price, but we do not focus on building a relationship, on the value we really deliver in order to exceed the customer’s expectations.

The real value that we generate for the customer should be the foundation of a long-term relationship.

4. Genuine attitude of helping the customer

This is what it is all about, helping the customer, in his/her life, business, projects, illusions, plans and challenges.

If we build our relationship based on that, on helping the customer in a genuine way, he will be willing to pay for it.

If we do not generate value in a genuine way, they will not buy from us, they will not recommend us, and we will go back to the price spiral.

Nowadays, in such a competitive market, it is necessary to give the customer reasons to buy that differentiate us from others, to give them new and better options and solutions.

The easy thing is to lower the price.

The difficult thing is to look for the added values that will allow you to even raise the price.

In many companies and sellers, the problem is to identify the possible sources of differentiation, and they certainly have many that are overlooked.

In chapter 4 of 51 Sales Tips you can find 6+6 keys to differentiate yourself from the competition that are worth analyzing, so that you can adapt them to your particular product or service, as well as other considerations for selling competitive advantages.

Differentiating your business is an effort worth making.

Sell your difference!