As we enter the holiday season on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, local business owners are confronted with the discount culture that we not only live in, but are quick to play along with. Sales, deals, discounts and price cuts have become the way of the American business culture, or so it seems. In her recent book, “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture,” author Ellen Ruppel Shell opens with the following statement that should send chills down the spine of any business owner.
"This book is about America's dangerous liaison with Cheap. In a market awash with increasingly similar-even identical-goods, price is the ultimate arbiter, the lower the better."
While you may think the discounting or the "sale culture" Americans have been taught to respond to (remember the old adage: "Behavior rewarded is behavior repeated.") is the real issue, I believe it’s little more than a red herring. It's a mere distraction hiding the real culprit. Discounting is a symptom of a much deeper and systemic issue that stems from a lack of distinction and differentiation among competing firms.
Distinction is the point at which a business is recognized as being different from everything else that's seen in the marketplace. Distinct organizations are often considered to be “the one” or the go-to provider; it's an organization that sits almost in a category by itself. Cirque du Soleil has done it with entertainment, Apple has done it with electronics and local businesses in towns and cities across the country do it consciously every day by moving away from sameness. They move beyond differentiation and into a position of distinction.
Becoming an organization that competes on distinction instead of discounting takes effort, but it’s not impossible. It starts with understanding your differentiation. Namely, what do you do to give your customers a reason to perceive your product, service, approach or experience as truly different and superior? You can start asking yourself questions like: “What are the top five things that make you different from a competitor?” or “What keeps your customers coming back and prevents them from defecting to another supplier?”
You should also look at distinction from the eyes of your customers. When is the last time you asked your customers why they do business with you? In fact, you can try a simple, two-question survey that will provide you with extraordinary feedback: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the quality of our [insert your product/offering here]?” Then, upon receiving the response, you ask: “What would it take to make it a 10?”
Finally, look at distinction with a lens on your competition. Take as much time as you need and write down all of the things that make them unique… then look for ways to do something other than what they do!
In a market where companies look like ships in a sea of sameness, it’s critical that your business has a firm grasp on the points of distinction that separate you from everyone else in your field.