Successful small businesses know how to communicate the true value of their product or service. They excel at differentiating themselves with offers that are truly unique. By definition, differentiation is the desirable, exclusive benefit(s) that sets a business apart from the competition. And it’s critical to successful marketing.

However, some business owners I’ve met struggle with this all-important aspect of small business marketing. I understand why. They’re so close to their product or service that it’s difficult to articulate a clear, compelling advantage in their digital marketing, advertising, social media, etc. Some owners even consider it bragging.

Because standing out in a crowded marketplace is crucial, this post shares tips on how to differentiate your company. We’re going to break it down into actionable techniques. After reading this blog post, you’ll be able to communicate why a prospect should choose you over your competitors.

Vital Questions About Your Marketing Message

Just about every important marketing decision you make will begin with a definition of your target market. Having a rock-solid understanding of your target customers and their pain points will make answering these vital questions a breeze.

Start by answering this question: what void in the marketplace do you fill? Your goal is to discover what’s missing.

Look at your product or service offering from the customer’s perspective. Is it complete? Does it offer all the benefits that consumers desire? Are there gaps in how customers are treated after the sale? What do people hate about your industry that you can fix? What can you do better, faster or more reliably than anyone else?

Customers will compare your product with your competitors. You need to do the same, focusing on your primary competitors. Be as objective as possible.

Try this fill-in-the-blank exercise. Unlike other companies, we offer / provide / deliver: _________

The goal is to uncover what is truly unique. Identify the value that consumers can’t get elsewhere. If there is something proprietary about your product or service offering, use it to your advantage. Shout it from the rooftops.

Take inspiration from Colonel Sanders. He knows the significance of keeping his herbs and spices a secret! The KFC brand has been around for decades and the exact recipe is still a secret because it works. According to Dan Myers, “…you have to admit: Keeping the recipe a trade secret is some seriously good marketing.”

Make A List

The marketing experts at Brew City Marketing coach their clients to leverage list-making. Make a list of everything you do for customer service. Include even the smallest things that you assume everyone should know are included.

Amanda Dalnodar: “I asked a roofer that was having trouble coming up with marketing messages to recount everything they do on the job site from beginning to end. I identified things we could list out such as cleaning up the job site before they leave each day. It seemed really obvious to him, but if their competition isn’t listing it out, it may be a differentiating factor to prospects checking out the marketplace.”

You’ve Figured Out What To Say, What’s Next?

Focus on communicating customer benefits, not product features. This has been a foundation of advertising for decades. Why? Because it’s proven to work.

We’re talking about the benefit that will drive prospects to choose your business over your competitors. Most customers don’t care about features, they want to know what’s in it for them. Bottom line, they expect to receive a product or service that solves a problem.

For example, homeowners want their lawn to be attractive and easy to maintain. And when it comes to mowing their grass, they’re usually less concerned with the nitty-gritty details of a lawn mower engine (features). They want to know if it’s going to be easy to operate and keep their lawn looking good (benefits).

Amateur golfers like me don’t buy golf balls because of what’s inside the ball (feature). We buy the ones that promise to go farther and straighter (benefit)!

Be crystal clear about what the customer gets in exchange for doing business with you. Don’t confuse them or try to impress them with jargon. You know when you’ve achieved clarity when someone with no experience with your product understands your offer. I encourage clients to test the clarity of their marketing messages, continually refining them until they discover what works.

Customer Journey

The job of marketing is to communicate to consumers based on where they are in their buying journey. That means your marketing has to communicate at different levels of customer interest in your product. In other words, not everyone wants to buy your product right now. Think of customers going through different stages of a cycle, eventually reaching a purchase decision.

Great marketing provides “awareness” messaging. This is the short version of your marketing message. It’s specifically designed for marketing platforms such as social media and paid Google ads. Google ads are very effective because they’re placed where consumers search.

You’ll use longer versions of your marketing message on your website and blog. Customers that spend time on your website or read your blog posts are likely further along in their journey. That’s a good signal that they’re getting ready to buy and want to know more about your offering.

For customers that are ready to buy, you need to provide proof you can deliver on your claims. Do that with testimonials, online reviews and case studies. You can also offer a guarantee that takes away their risk, helping them feel comfortable with trying your product.

Conclusion

No two businesses are the same. Effectively communicating what differentiates yours from the competitors is vital to success. Marketing message development has to include differentiation. Without it, a product or service is simply a commodity, which puts negative pressure on your price strategy.

Our Founder and CEO, Amanda Dalnodar, has been nominated for the 2021 Enterprising Women of the Year Award. Since launching Brew City Marketing in 2009, Amanda has fearlessly led the business from startup to success. Today, Brew City Marketing is a thriving woman-owned enterprise with a strong presence in the greater Milwaukee area.

As part of the nomination process, Amanda was interviewed with a series of questions. Her answers perfectly exemplify why she is deserving of this once-in-a-lifetime award:

Describe the business or industry you are in: 

I am in the digital marketing industry, specializing in local search marketing for small businesses. We function as an extension of our client’s business, serving as their remote digital marketing department.

What is the greatest challenge you have faced since starting this company? 

I’ve found it challenging to prioritize my career growth while trying to keep up with the growth of the company. Fostering a team of highly skilled professionals requires me to continually work at sharpening my own skills.

How did you meet that challenge?  

I began meeting with mentors, enrolled in several courses, hired a marketing consultant, and worked with a business coach. All these services helped me to fine-tune my leadership skills. I’m a big believer in teamwork, and have found that surrounding myself with talented, innovative people has been paramount to our success.

Where do you want your company to be in five years? 

Our current clientele is mostly local small businesses, but I would like to see us expand on a national level. For 2021, we’ve created a marketing plan focused on servicing clients across the country. The pandemic has helped small businesses like ours become more comfortable communicating virtually. Nowadays, everyone is accustomed to doing business remotely. Even my 86 year old grandma uses FaceTime!

How do you give back to the community? 

As a business, it’s rewarding to give back to our community. Each quarter, we select a local organization to support. Over the years, we’ve held coat drives for the homeless, collected and donated books to schools, picked up trash for Earth Day, and participated in Giving Tuesday. We’ve also helped organizations promote their cause through advertisements on our website and social media pages.

Are you involved in any formal or informal programs to mentor girls or young women entrepreneurs? 

I choose to hire and mentor students from local universities. At one time, I was managing as many as eight students. Along with $15 per hour pay, I give them real responsibilities and marketing tasks while offering leadership guidance and career advice. 

What is the single best piece of advice you want to share with women who are starting new businesses? 

My favorite bit of advice is to “Follow your passion.” I trusted my intuition and built a career in an industry I felt passionate about. Now I find that I don’t even do this for myself anymore, I do it for the people I work with. That mindset gives me all the energy and perseverance I need.

What do you know that you wish you had known when you started your business?  

Dream big. If you work hard – harder than anyone you know – you will succeed.

Who was your role model or mentor?  

My mom, Carol. She was the first in her family to graduate college and worked as an RN for 40 years. Additionally, she has an impressive and unending well of emotional strength and physical endurance. She taught me to be kind, optimistic, independent, and to never give up.

Have you used other people’s money to grow your business? (bank loan, friends, family, equity, etc)

It wasn’t until the pandemic began in 2020 that our business had to borrow money for the first time. We secured a PPP loan to maintain normalcy and continue offering our employees benefits and growth opportunities while our company revenue stagnated for months.

How has the use of technology helped you grow your business?

Technology is our business! As society becomes more dependent on technology, we know we can count on business needs evolving. We will continue to help small businesses leverage our tech services for growth.

Congratulations on your nomination, Amanda! We appreciate your strong leadership and unrelenting dedication to Brew City Marketing. 

We made it through 2020! This year has been unusual for us all, and we wanted to give our clients & friends a little update on our new efforts to provide YOU with the best digital marketing service possible.

Over the last few months, we’ve hired on some exciting new people. These folks all have something valuable to offer; as a result, Brew City Marketing is now stronger than ever. We’ve also expanded our digital marketing software portfolio, which means that you now have access to even more state-of-the-art services. As we continue to grow, our comprehensive digital marketing packages will only improve—this translates to more traffic to your website and, ultimately, more business!  

SEO Department Additions

Last year was an interesting one for the SEO department. We overhauled our SEO packages and streamlined some SEO processes. This change has improved our SEO services across the board—we now provide a multitude of services for any budget. Our biggest change, however, involves staffing. 

We’re pleased to announce that our technical SEO guru, Austin, has returned from a brief leave of absence. Austin possesses a skill set that enables him to address any and all technical errors that cause Google to pass over a website. You can rest assured that Austin will make your website, Google My Business, and citations across the internet look as professional and uniform as possible.  

We’ve also hired on Andrew as our full-time SEO specialist. Andrew comes from an intense writing background. He has written across multiple disciplines and used to teach writing courses at the university level. Andrew’s knowledge of writing across industries has proven to be valuable. Since we hired him, Google has released a core algorithm update that favors long form content. His copywriting abilities will set your company’s website apart from your competitors. 

New Year, New Website

It’s time to take your online presence to the next level. Now more than ever, things are moving from brick-and-mortar shops to online services. This is especially true as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on. Luckily for you, you’ve hired on the best digital marketing team in the city!

HTML Conversions

In the past, we’ve hosted HTML sites through our GoDaddy servers. Unfortunately, we’re beginning to realize that GoDaddy is not the safest option (despite some budgetary advantages). Moving forward, we would urge our clients to convert their HTML websites to a WordPress website. Brew City Marketing uses its own dedicated server to host our clients’ WordPress websites—this means we can monitor your website on a 24/7 basis and prevent it from being hacked. 

Aside from security concerns, it’s hard to deny that WordPress sites are simply more aesthetically pleasing. We can fully customize and control every function on a WordPress website. Additionally, WordPress is an open-source platform, which means that new widgets and plug-ins are being created and implemented every single day. By utilizing a WordPress website, you can rest assured that your website will always stand out from the crowd. 

*New* Website Error Reporting Service

One of the newest additions to our portfolio is our website error checker. Websites can be finicky—anyone who has run one themselves knows this to be true. What you might not know, however, is that one single error in code can crash your website!

If you suspect that there might be an error in your website’s code, or need some assistance checking for grammar & spelling errors, you can always reach out to us for an audit. Once we run our report, you can either roll up your sleeves and fix the errors yourself or you can hand the task off to us—our team of pros will have your website fixed in no time.  

*New* WordPress Training Options

If you find yourself lost on the backend of your website, don’t worry. We’ve all been there! We offer three levels of tutorials for different kinds of WordPress users. For those who need to spruce up their fundamentals, we have a complementary tutorial that breaks down the essential nuts and bolts of logging into and making changes on a website. For the more tech-savvy user, we can create custom tutorials that serve as a deep dive into a specific concept. Lastly, if you want a truly comprehensive guide, we can walk you through a tutorial virtually in real time—additionally, we’ll record the session, so you’ll have a reference guide in the future. 

Receive a Free Month of Hosting

If you love the services Brew City provides you year in and year out, we have a special offer for you. Whenever you refer another business to us, we’ll cover the cost of hosting your website for a month. All you have to do is have your colleague fill out this form. Once we have the form ready to go, we’ll remove the hosting cost from your monthly invoice.

But that’s not all—if your referral signs on for a VIP SEO service package, we’ll show you our thanks by sending you a brand-new iPad! At the end of the day, we want everyone’s business to succeed and expand. Stronger businesses make for stronger communities, so let’s continue to grow together!

Sign Up for Annual Pay and Get 10% Off Your Hosting Total

Have trouble keeping up with invoices? You can pay for your hosting service all at once. If you do so we’ll give you 10% off. Another way to make things simple is by setting up auto-pay for your recurring services. Reach out to liza@brewcitymarketing to sign up!

At this point, everyone can agree that 2021 has been a challenging year for businesses of all sizes. We’ll be the first to say that we wouldn’t be in our current position without the partnership we’ve developed with you over the years. 2021 will be a better year, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that your business—and ours—will continue to excel and thrive well into the future. From the bottom of our hearts, the team at Brew City Marketing thanks you. We look forward to the challenges that await us in the months to come, and we’re confident that, together, we’ll be able to handle anything 2021 throws our way!