... And the Clients Went Wild!: How Savvy Professionals Win All the Business They Want

Chapter 2. First Principle What Are You Doing that No One Else Is Doing?

Build Client Delight Through Your Differentiation

Today your products and services often require a Herculean effort to gain exposure. With all the noise in your clients' and potential clients' daily lives, it certainly hasn't become any easier to attract attention and appeal to your target market. But it has never been more critical for business survival.

Often you have to step outside of the current norms and stand out to attract attention. But in order to be noticed in a credible way, you must have a compelling reason for grabbing people's attention. Your product, promotion, offer, staff, or culture—or something else about your business—must be unique in some way. As mentioned in Chapter 1, "Executive Summary," running a conservative, under-the-radar firm today may cause you to become something of the past. Successful firms need to find ways to be exciting, while sticking with their values, so that people will pay attention—and buy.

A Gas Station With A Cult Following

Sometimes what your competitors consider to be "unimportant" may just turn out to be the differentiation that gets customers coming back for more. For example, how does a Texas-based gas station chain get patrons talking about them all over the world? It's simple: by having something that people rarely find at gas stations. And by providing customers with what others don't, these chains have become something of a roadside tourist attraction.

Throughout ...