Graham McGregor: Stand out from your competitors with a 'positive point of difference'

There are dozens of ways to stand out from your competitors. Photo / 123RF

Most of us in business have a lot of good competitors.

(Just do a Google search for your type in business in your area and you'll usually see a lot of different choices that potential clients could spend their money with.)

So if you have a lot of competitors, how do you create a "positive point of difference" marketing advantage so potential clients choose your business instead of these competitors?

There are dozens of ways to do this.

Here are two examples to get you thinking…

Example 1: The female electrician:

I needed to find a good electrician recently to do some minor electrical repairs around my home.

So I went onto a website called No Cowboys and read the reviews for a number of electricians in my area.

One company that caught my eye when reading these reviews was Apex Electrical.

Apex Electrical is owned by a woman called Annah Augustowicz.

And her firm has received 100 per cent positive reviews from 26 different customers.

These customers all praise Annah highly for her speed, neatness, high quality of work and amazing customer service.

I was very impressed with what other people had to say about Annah so I decided to use her services myself.

I went onto her website and left a message.

To my delight I received a phone call from Annah within five minutes and we have now booked a time for Annah to come around and do my minor electrical repairs.

Annah told me she is so busy that she could not see me for a week.

But I am more than happy to wait seven days because my repairs are not urgent and I really like the idea of using a tradesperson who is very good.

Annah has a number of positive points of difference that work well for her.

First of all, Annah responds quickly to all customer enquiries.

Secondly, she gets amazing feedback from her her customers.

Thirdly, Annah is a female electrician in an industry where the majority of electricians are male.

Example 2: The 'clients for life' real estate company

Paul Vujnovich, who owns Harveys Real Estate Te Atatu, has been awarded four times consecutively the group's NZ Franchise Owner of the Year, Harveys & LJ Hooker's International World Champion Business Leader.

Paul has also been crowned with the network's highest accolade, the Sir Leslie Hooker Award for excellence in the real estate profession.

One of the reasons that his business does so well is that Paul has a "clients for life" approach to real estate. And this is his positive point of difference.

It means that everything that Paul does in his business is designed to create real estate clients for life.

So Paul is always focussed on adding huge value to these clients.

A great example is the "Spin and Win $20,000" evening that Paul put on for his Harveys Real Estate clients this week at the Trusts Stadium in Henderson.

(I had the pleasure of attending this event myself and it was a memorable occasion.)

There were more than 200 people present and we had an hour to mix and mingle over drinks and delicious finger food.

Then we got down to the fun part of the night.

First of all Paul gave away thousands of dollars to local charities.

Then he gave away a great prize for a children's colouring-in competition along with some quick $100 spot prizes.

Next up was the "Spin to Win $20,000" main event.

Paul had invited all the clients who had sold a home through Harveys Real Estate Te Atatu in the last year.

Every client was given a numbered ball and 20 of these numbered balls were then picked at random.

If you had one of the 20 balls that were picked you were then invited on stage to choose one of 20 envelopes on the wall.

Ten envelopes had a "Spin to Win" invitation which meant you could sit on stage and shortly spin a numbered wheel and be in to win $20,000.

The other 10 envelopes had no invitation, however the people who chose these envelopes still received a complimentary bottle of Moet.

We soon had 10 lucky punters sitting on stage and one after the other they stood up and spun the wheel.

A short time later one lucky person walked away with $20,000.

(The other nine non winners were still given a complimentary bottle of Moet.)

It was a memorable and fun night and has given Paul and his team a positive point of difference marketing advantage.

If you want to get potential clients to choose your business (instead of your competitors) I recommend you create a positive point of difference marketing advantage.

It could be just what you need to make 2018 one of your most successful years ever.

"If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete." - Jack Welch

Action Exercises:

1: What positive point of difference marketing advantage could you create for your business this month?

2: If you are interested in some assistance to create a positive point of difference marketing advantage just send me an email with brief details of your type of business.

(I'll then let you know how I might be able to help you.)

- Graham McGregor is a marketing advisor and helps businesses who offer an expensive service to quickly attract ideal new clients. You can download his brand new 106-page marketing guide 'The Expensive Service Marketing Solution' at no charge from www.TheExpensiveServiceMarketingSolution.com