What Makes an Offer Unique?
It is an advantage if you can show how your unique offer differs from everything else out there. This may be easy if you are piloting a new idea, less so if it is a market with lots of competition.
Hairdressers, for example, probably find little potential for differentiating their offer. Even so, some may develop a reputation for some style or service and so they can promote that as their unique feature. Also for something like hairdressing, it will suffice if it is unique locally! There is a limit to how far customers are likely to travel.
To distinguish your offer from your competitors is not necessarily a claim to be better than they are. Making the distinction between what you offer and what others offer can help potential customers decide which they prefer.
A unique offer does not necessarily sell! You might come up with an offer that is brilliant on paper but no-one wants it. If your unique offer does not sell, the chances are your marketing strategy is at fault, perhaps the design of your offer, pricing, the way you present its benefits and features.
What make an offer unique ?
Sometimes it is possible to come up with a brand new idea. But even so you may need to distinguish your offer from competitors addressing the same problem with different offers. So, let’s review possible ways in which an offer might be unique.
- You identify a new problem. If this is true, the big challenge is raising awareness of the problem. People will not value your unique solution if they do not see it as a solution to a relevant problem.
- You identify a new solution to an old problem. Here people will be aware of the problem and maybe committed to the old solutions. Why is yours better?
- Pricing needs to be approached with caution. If your offer is good then you should charge a realistic price for it. If you can say “I can charge less for this offer, because it reduces my costs” it may be convincing.
- Reduces costs for your customers. If your unique offer saves money or time and you can show how, then it may be a winner. Show how if the customer invests in your solution, they will save money or time in some way.
- Your experience, skills or knowledge uniquely equips you for offering a particular service. Do you understand the customer’s problem?
- You offer support for the use of some product. The product is not necessarily unique but you may be able to offer a high quality support service.
- You offer bonus features with the basic product or service. The important thing here is the bonuses make sense in relationship with the basic offer. “We have found that people who use this thing, usually need this other thing, which we bundle with the offer.”
My Unique Offer
To illustrate how this can work, I shall attempt to show how my offer is unique. I offer a local marketing consultancy service. It includes online and in-person marketing and the offer is to local businesses as well as third sector organisations.
Taken together the following make my offer unique:
- My offer takes a holistic or systemic approach to local marketing. I help my clients look at their organisation and its wider context.
- My customers identify the problems they face and find solutions to them. I do not offer a single solution to marketing problems but work with the customer to find the best solution for their business or organisation.
- My non-directive consultancy approach, keeps the client in the driving seat. They set the agenda and make decisions in the light of our conversations.
- If we find a solution I can help implement it and tackle barriers within the client’s organisation.
- Community development online is the name of my blog and highlights the source of my experience, supporting small organisations, promoting their causes and developing projects over 30 years.
- My approach aims to bridge third and private sectors. There is an enormous overlap in values between the private and community sectors at the local level and this is not commonly recognised.
- I help third sector organisations find their place in the private sector. Many organisations, particularly if they have been around for many years, have resources they can develop into products and services to help them become sustainable and less dependent on grants.
- My offer complements the work of web developers. Many find their clients are unclear about what they need to promote their organisations. Clients who have done their strategic planning and understand how to manage a relationship with an expert consultant are always welcome. My offer can help and support the client throughout their consultancy arrangement.
Organisation or Website?
Understanding organisations is far more important than understanding the Internet. For a client seeking help with the Internet, their success depends on their whole organisation. Change is much more than moving from being without a website to being with one. It has implications for all aspects of how they work.
Creation of a website is not a big job and increasingly clients are able to do this for themselves. What they need is guidance through the early months and help with learning to live with a demanding website.
People may need help to build their website and this will remain so as new possibilities are discovered almost daily. But ongoing support is of greater value. You don’t know on day 1 what particular problems your business is going to face. Whilst websites are fairly similar, organisations are all different and one organisation may have completely different issues to another with a similar website.
Leave a comment, especially if you can think of other ways in which an offer can be unique.