Why Should I Choose You? Differentiating Strategies for Business.

I’m currently sitting in a session at the Performance Marketing Insights Conference listening to a speaker who is discussing how to help your prospective customers choose you over your competition. Here are my personal notes from the session – with some side comments.

The single most important question in business is “how do you get your customers to choose you?”

Comparison to football – 11 people on the field who are tightly coordinated, highly motivated and have clear image of what their goal is – the touchdown.

Now imagine if only 4 of 11 players knew which end zone was theirs. Only 2 in 11 cared. Only 2 of 11 knew they position they played. His point was many companies run their business this way and it results in chaos, inefficiencies and lack of effectiveness. You HAVE to know what your company strategic plan is. Start with your vision and mission, and make sure everyone on your team knows what they are.

Typical mission statement: “It is our mission to dramatically initiate performance based opportunities as well as to proactively leverage existing quality leadership skills to meet our customers’ needs.”

Question – if you were an employee of this company, would you know what your end zone is, what your role is, why you should be inspired by their role? MOST employees don’t even have a clue in what the company’s mission statement is.

The unspoken ending to any mission statement should be “so please chose me.” If this end does not make sense with your mission statement, then you’re writing it correctly. If you can answer this one question “why should I chose you” it will guide and shape your entire investment relations plan, your entire marketing strategy, your entire sales strategy, your entire hiring process and so on.

The definition of clarify = Everyone is on the same page.

With the football analogy – everyone is on the same page.

Why – How – What

• How – cause / believe / purpose / why do you get out of bed in the morning, and why should anyone care.
• What – How do you do what do you
• What – what is it that you do?

All leading companies, all those who make a difference and those who drive success, regardless of their size, know WHY they do what they do. No one is investing in what you do or how you do it. They care about and buy into WHY you do it.

• Apple’s Why – Changing the game.
• Apply’s How – Bueaitful products, easy to use.
• Apple’s What – Computer, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, etc.

People, when they buy apple, are buying into changing the game.

Your Question: Are you a What company or a WHY company.

When you have a strong WHY, you have NO COMPETITION compared to those who are comparing what and how. If you are the only one in your field that has a strong why, then you are in a category of your own and you have no one else who compares.

Answering “Why Should I Choose You?”

If everything you do is a means to an end… what is the end? ___

What is your end purpose? It should be done in seven words or less.