#1 Marketing Mistake -
Failure To Let Your Prospects And Customers Know The Unique Benefits They Get From Doing Business With You And Not Your Competitors

“Why should I do business with you, instead of any and all other options I have?”

This is a question that goes through each of your prospect’s minds before they choose to do business with you, and through each of your customer’s minds before they return to buy from you again.
And, it’s a question you must take the time to formulate an answer to. Without such an answer, you become like every other business who sells the same products or services as you.

It doesn’t matter what product or service is being offered, your customers can go nearly anywhere and find the exact same (or very similar) products or services offered for the same price, or perhaps for even less money than what you charge.

Think about yourself, for a minute. Why do you do shop at the same stores or eat at the same restaurants over and over again?  Most likely, it’s because they offer you something you can’t get from their competitors. Maybe they’re closer to where you live or work.

Or maybe you like the way a particular restaurant prepares a certain meal. Perhaps it’s the environment or the people who work there.  Or maybe you just feel comfortable… almost like you’re at home while you’re in their place of business. It may not be one single thing that influences you, but rather a combination of several factors.

Nevertheless, the businesses you continue to frequent give you something special. Something unique. Something you just can’t get anywhere else. It’s that uniqueness that keeps you coming back over and over again.  If you expect people to do business with you rather than your competition, it’s imperative that you have something to offer that your competition doesn’t have.

Preferably something your competition can’t offer. Something that sets you and the products or services you offer apart from everyone else in your type of business.

That’s what’s known as your Unique Competitive Advantage, or UCA.

You may have heard this concept referred to as a “USP” (Unique Selling Proposition), “USA” (Unique Selling Advantage), “PDF” (Personal Differentiating Factor), “SOB” (Statement of Benefit), “UPA” (Unique Purchase Appeal, PDF (Personal Differentiating Factor), or any number of others descriptive names.

In any case, the name or what you call it is not important. No matter what you choose to define your unique factor, it’s one of the most critical, yet most often overlooked marketing tools in business, today.

Without a clearly defined factor that differentiates you are sets you apart from everyone else who offers the same (or similar) products or services as you, your business will be no different than any other business your clients or prospects will encounter, and there will be no reason for others to do business with you rather than your competitors.

On the other hand, a well thought-out, carefully identified UCA can differentiate you and your business and make you stand out from your competition as unique, different, and special, and the business enterprise that’s most desirable to do business with.

Coming up with your own UCA doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s simply a matter of identifying what you have to offer your clients, customers or prospects beyond what the product or service you offer can provide.

Let’s say you’re involved with a product or service that is so similar to others in the marketplace, that there is no significant difference between them.  In that case, your UCA must be something you or your firm or business can offer, exclusive of the features or benefits of the product or service you sell.