by Paul Simister
on November 17, 2020
How do you differentiate your business?
You answer the 7 big questions of business success in a way that is distinctive:
- Who?
- What?
- How?
- Where?
- When?
- Why?
- How Much?
Is differentiating your business really that simple?
Yes and No.
These questions are an immensely powerful way to design your business to be different from your competitors.
But, while you have the ideas and answers, it’s not your opinion that matters in the end.
Your potential customers have the power to reward a well-designed and differentiated business.
And to get your reward, you need to motivate them by appealing to their self-interest.
You’ve probably seen the letters WIIFM before if you read business blogs.
They stand for “What’s In It For Me?”
It’s a question you must keep in your mind at all times because if you don’t, your market will ignore you.
You need to answer the 7 big questions of business success by looking through your customers eyes to make sure that what you are doing is adding value to them and strengthening your relationship.
by Paul Simister
on June 4, 2011
I’m interested when the ordinary becomes extraordinary so this story caught my eye.
It is reported that a lap dancer from Stringfellows club in London has a pair of knickers that have been valued at £15,000.
What makes this pair of panties so special and different from all the others? It is an example of differentiation by what and especially who.
A guest at Stringfellows signed and drew butterflies on them.
Still not so special but when I tell you that the guest was Turner Prize winning artist Damien Hirst, thing start to make a bit more sense.
Here’s the news story from The Sun with a photo of the pink knickers.
It’s money I wouldn’t pay personally but it’s a useful reminder that value, like beauty, is very much in the eye of the beholder.
I’ve seen the problem where business owners are constrained by their own beliefs.
If things are a bit tight financially, you can project that thought onto your customers and you can try to scrimp and save on their behalf. Sometimes it may be appropriate but other times they may want to splash the cash.
