If what you're selling is a dream - where's the differentiator?

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My Company, Alive Communications, is in the business of devising ways that organisations communicate on a face to face business with their people. Our industry is swamped with players - all seemingly saying similar stuff to prospects.

Our 'product' can't be touched or held at the selling stage. The proof of the pudding is very much in the eating. How do I keep new customers thinking our product is fresher and more exciting than the next guy?

-- Lud Romano (lud@alivecomms.com), November 01, 2000

Answers

By always helping them achieve their results than yours. What does your product do for them and what are you willing to do make sure that it does better than the typical peddler or idea prostitute?

The answer lies in the long term relationship. If your product is the only thing that is fresh and exciting than IMHO that is what I call idea prostitution but if your relationship is more fresher and exciting, that's what I call an intelligent partnership.

If your customer can't see how you fit in during the long term or your strategy doesn't take account for it, you won't have a differentiator.

I hope this triggers your thinking to see how much bigger Alive Communications needs to be in order to build rather than capture significant partnership.

Of course I am assuming that you are in a vertical market rather than a horizontal one.

Hope this was helpful to you.

Regards

M.

M. To be or not to be that is the question: http://www.fastcompany.com/online/22/failure.html

-- Mark Zorro (zorromark@consultant.com), November 02, 2000.


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