Avoiding Insanity with Product Differentiation

Albert Einstein may or may not have made the famous statement about the definition of insanity being “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” But wherever that saying originated, there’s plenty of truth in it, and it’s used by countless individuals and organizations as a way of saying, “If we want things to turn out differently, then we have to do things differently,” which certainly applies for marketers.
The concept of product differentiation is not new. Naturally, brands want to make their products and services more attractive to a particular market. Products (including service products) may stand out from competitors based on single or multiple characteristics, and when buyers perceive that difference, marketing magic can happen. Developing uniqueness in the eyes of customers and maintaining that sense of “specialness,” however, requires continually fine-tuning marketing and sales practices.
Continuing to Make Products and Services Stand Out Over Time
There are practically unlimited ways that brands can make themselves stand out in the market. It could be by touting ethical buying and manufacturing techniques, making a complex product easier to understand, or perhaps becoming thought leaders in their industry. However it’s accomplished, it’s not a once-and-done thing. It requires listening to targeted consumers, understanding a coherent “brand” for products or services, continuing to gauge how the brand is perceived, and adjusting as necessary.
Stagnation Is Deadly to Your Marketing Content
Some of your evergreen marketing content will continue to resonate and be relevant for a long time. But you can’t expect to market just like you used to and keep getting great results, even for a highly successful marketing campaign. Not only must you regularly refresh marketing content, your sales team needs powerful tools that help them put the right information in front of the person with whom they’re having a sales conversation. And depending on industry, the “right” information may change at a glacial pace (if you sell, say, zippers), or it may evolve quite rapidly (if, for example, you sell software).
Marketing Strategies That Stay Fresh
Marketing strategies by necessity must change and evolve with the market, and that requires keeping a finger on the pulse of your industry and market. The strategy that produced results a year ago simply may not speak to the market as well today. Five areas on which you can focus to help ensure your marketing strategies remain relevant are:
Technology (Is it now faster, or more powerful?)
Price and/or quality (Is it within reach of a larger market?)
Product (Why is it more relevant today than yesterday?)
Customer service (What is your brand doing to ensure it’s superior?)
User experience (How will a new customer feel differently after trying your product?)
All of these are made better by compelling enterprise content that’s instantly available to sales professionals in the moment. Not only must your team have sufficient, fresh, compelling content, they must be able to reach the right piece of content for the prospect without delay. Fortunately, technological solutions exist with these capabilities.
Don’t Follow Trends. Create Them.
Marketing differentiation doesn’t work as well when brands play follow the leader, or feel like they have to jump on every industry trend. In fact, it’s most effective when you’re the brand that sets the trends rather than one of the many that follows them. It’s not easy, but with the right combination of exceptional team members, and solutions that put the power of compelling enterprise content into their hands, your brand’s marketing strategy can flourish and evolve so that your team can reap the rewards.
Being able to personalize enterprise content on the spot is immensely powerful in helping you build customer relationships. As you learn more about each customer and are able to meet his or her needs with the right, compelling content, you accelerate the buying process, build loyalty as a trusted advisor, and do so without wasting your own or your customer’s time. Make sure you have the tools you need to lead your customers to the exact solution that meets their needs, and offer them sufficient relevant content to answer their questions, and your marketing strategy is poised for success.