Kelford Labs Daily: The big things you don’t do
That others do.
Imagine your ideal prospect doesn’t end up buying from you, but instead goes to the obvious competitor. The big one, the famous one. The one everyone knows about.
For whatever reason, they don’t get exactly what they want, and the next time they need something, they come to you instead.
After experiencing your biggest competitor, what about your business surprises them the most?
Answering that question will give you a picture of the biggest tradeoffs you’re making to create your unique mixture of value.
It tells you what you’re not doing that others are, and who might prefer your way of working over theirs.
If your answer is, “Nothing will surprise them, we’re just like our biggest competitor only local,” or, “only cheaper,” or, “only smaller,” that presents a huge opportunity to make tradeoffs.
Because we should be different.
Acting like the other companies in our space is business camouflage, not marketing. We blend in, and become part of the background.
But when we make real tradeoffs to deliver particularly huge value for a particular type of customer, they notice our differences and celebrate them.
They tell their friends, colleagues, and contacts why we’re special, and they start by saying what we don’t do that others are doing.
So think about the tradeoffs you’re making—the things you don’t do that the bigger, more famous names in your space all do—and why you’ve made them.
And think about how you can demonstrate those tradeoffs to the customers who’ll appreciate them most.
