Customers do business with your company because of the value they receive, usually more value than your competitors. Yet most Websites do not come close to communicating their competitive advantage. This is one of the most important messages on your Website, especially your home page. Here are a few ideas on how to communicate your unique, competitive advantage on the Web.
Develop and Understand Your Competitive Advantage
The first step is to clearly understand how you are different and better. If this is difficult, then you may not have an advantage to communicate and need to develop one. A great place to start is Jaynie Smith’s excellent book, “Creating Competitive Advantage.” Learn more about Jaynie and the book at www.SmartAdvantage.com
Why Should I Contact You?
How well you communicate a unique competitive advantage is a major factor determining if Website visitors make contact with your company. It also sets you apart from other Websites that do not communicate well.
Use Real Numbers
Talk about how you are different in an objective, quantifiable fashion that is unique to your company and is easily understood by Website visitors. Here are a few examples of things that may set you apart:
- Great employees
- Business terms
- Responsiveness
- Information
- Guarantees
- Delivery and shipping
- Convenience
- Quality
- Expert advice
- Product and service breadth and width
- One stop shop
- Extreme focus
- Employee training
- Company history and experience
- Relationships
- Sales forgive specific examples of why you excel in these areas and support this with measurable data and results.
Keep it Simple
Use brief taglines and bullet points on your Website to clearly express how you are better and different from competitors. Competitive advantage should be easily communicated to customers, prospects and throughout your company in a simple, clear message. If other Websites are communicating a similar message, then it is not a competitive advantage. Be specific and avoid general terms like, “we offer great customer service,” or “our quality is the best.”
Price is NOT a Competitive Advantage
Unless you are Walmart, price should not be a competitive advantage. Focus on the great value you bring and keep your prices competitive, but do not make low price the reason for doing business with your firm.
Talk to Your Customers
Ask your current customers about your competitive advantage and to rank you in various areas where you excel. This is very important and without it your perceived competitive advantage is a guessing game.
Regular Emails as Reminders
Communicate your competitive advantage in regular emails to customers, prospects and referral sources. You can go into more depth in your emails about how and why you are better and different. Provide examples and show readers with great content that helps your target markets.
Your Website is a Competitive Advantage
A top-notch Website can also be a competitive advantage. Make your prospects and customers happy with a great Website full of information they can’t wait to read because it helps them do their job better or improves the quality of their lives.
Competitive advantage is in the details of what you do and how you do it. Communicate those details on your Website and watch your results improve dramatically, because very few Websites do it.
