How to differentiate your company?
By Paulo Araújo - 8/10/2001
This is a basic premise of today. We have books saying that we should be different, lecturers preaching this attitude as a matter of survival. In order a sense of urgency surround this issue. They preach that we have to delight, surprise our clients as it was simple and do not demand resources, planning and time. Being different is a daily achievement, a hard and serious work. It doesn´t happen by chance. And also, it is not enough only be different but to keep yourself different, making innovation a part of the culture of your company.
Now we must clarify in details this essential behavior. What is to be different? What is to be different in your area, in your market or in relation to your client? To be different you must search. Search in the market what are the new things that your competitors are doing in relation to theirs relationship with customers, suppliers, community. And more, Competitor is not only that one who offers a product or service similar to yours. Today, competition refers to the model of the business adopted. If a company whatever the company storage better than you, a more aggressive sales team, it will also be your competitor. How to be different? Here the answer is only and courageous. What can be a great innovation and work very well for a company may not go right in your business.
You must adapt the new model to the culture of your company, respect beliefs and values. A doctor says that any patient is equal to the other even when the disease is the same, each one reacts of a different way. And to complicate the situation a little more, when you're really doing something different, the competition does not measure efforts to copy your strategies quickly. The first airline that launched the program of mileage did a tremendous success. Today, as we have seen, this action is no longer new.
But this context is very worthy: so we have reason to be so much better. Being different must worth something .Delight everyone wants. The issue is that some companies seem to forget that customer exists to, among other things, make profit. It is good being different, but it is so much better being profitable. It is not useful being different just to be different. It must increase our return, the visibility of our product.
And besides, we must be different not only to the customer and suppliers, but mainly to our team. Claus Moller says: The quality of the care that your customer receives is directly proportional to quality... that your employee receives from your company. The customer wants to buy from different companies, not companies that only make different products. Socially and environmentally correct companies, that are attentive to the quality perceived by the user, not only the quality produced.
The message is given,now you just need to think: - How to differentiate my company?
Source: * Bumeran Paulo Araújo Writer and lecturer. |
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