6 Reasons Why You Need to Be Unique Through an Unfair Advantage

Think back.... remember playing tag as a kid? Ever had that kid who changed the rules on you like what's BASE and or they call TIME OUT just as you were about to tag them? Super unfair!

What if you could change the business rules just like that kid? What if you reframed how your clients see you and your industry? What if you could create an unfair advantage above and beyond what your competitors could even offer?

What is an unfair advantage? Well, there are different names for it. Some people will call it a competitive advantage. Honed down specifically, you can also call it a unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is what makes your business better than your competitors. I'll give examples in our industry, including ours, in a minute. 

Why should you have an unfair advantage?

When I started in sales in 1997, I did a quick SWOT analysis of our market and realized I had over 2000 competitors here in the Washington, DC area. Every cleaning company sounded like every other cleaning company. I realized I needed to set us apart from everyone else. You see, your clients look at your value. They look at the services you provide and the words you use and if you appear to be like everyone else, then how will they be able to judge the best cleaning company? The last differentiator in their mind is price, and they'll pick the cheapest every single time. 

WAIT?! Don't you always say that people don't buy based on price? They buy based on value? Yep. But if all else is exactly equal, especially value, then how else will they choose the "different" company? The only other metric to look at is price. 

There are 3 main attributes a USP has to have, according to the National Association of Sales Professionals. 1) The USP has to show the benefit(s) the customer will have, 2) it has to be unique in your messaging, and 3) it has to show how it targets your client's pain points. 

Here are 6 Reasons why you need one:

• If you have a solid USP, you'll appear different.
• A great USP will boost your authority, as viewed by your clients, over your competitors.
• A great USP can give you the ability to charge higher rates due to a higher perceived value.
• Your thought out USP can lead to a category design (check out Play Bigger).
• A good USP will make marketing and sales a lot easier for you.
• A better USP will lead to greater customer loyalty.

Before I give some examples, I'll share our previous cleaning company's USPs, all around Quality Control.:

1) We used technology to measure the level of clean within a facility (hat tip: SureTrend's ATP Meter).

2) We used for a while a communication system that connected the employee, management, and our client in real time convos, and allowed for a seamless dialog, regardless of language barriers. (Hat tip: Swept)

3) We incorporated surveys to track performance, to set KPI improvements, and to track a net promoter score through each client. (We used Google Forms).

Other Examples:

• Eyewear company, Warby Parker, touts "Try five frames at home, for free". I don't wear glasses but my wife and our youngest wear them. I recently went glasses shopping with our youngest. They're not cheap. Holy cow. We ended up shopping at our nearest eyeglasses place. Had I known about Warby Parker, I would have considered them. Try at the comfort of your home, wearing different frames and testing for comfort, for free? Who else does that?
•  Many of you reading this are Canva users. They say "Empowering the World to Design". I first started using Canva when it was 100% free with no cost anywhere. They've certainly changed since I began using it but it's a great resource for basic DIY design. I've used it to create podcast art, an ebook, audiograms, and more. Now they offer everything like editing YouTube videos, creating biz cards, presentations, and more, and with AI, you can tell it what to create, and it will. I've also used software, like Adobe's, and this basic DIY approach beats their competitors for sure. 
•  Some of you Gen-Xers and older remember Domino's Pizza and their "You get fresh, hot pizza, delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less - or it's free" promise. Make the call...on your mark, get set. Go! The delivery driver had 30 minutes to deliver your pizza. An unfortunate tragedy ended that promise. At the time nobody else offered a similar promise. It was unique. It was different. It definitely was bold. 
• Thanks to COVID, some of you became Zoom users, whether you liked it or not. Their USP is "A video conferencing solution so simple anyone can use it". We first started using it in 2016. What was there prior to that? Skype, which was largely unreliable and glitchy? But Zoom brought conferencing to the masses and grew exponentially in 2020 due to offices and schools closing. Did they bring it to the masses? Definitely. Even in 2020, GoToMeeting was the only contender, but it definitely wasn't simple to navigate. Zoom set themselves as different and more valuable. 
• I had the privilege to mastermind with Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. He's now on his Bananaball tour selling out MLB stadiums. His mantra is "Fans First". What made him unique? Timed games, no bunt rules, savory characters, different scoring rules, and much more. Jesse made baseball more entertaining. 

Now that I gave examples outside the cleaning industry, what can we do to make your company different in the marketplace? What will make you different? Hint: Don't use "Licensed, bonded, and insured", "We provide eco-friendly products" or "Family owned". Many say those. Here are some examples by which to draw inspiration of a new USP:

•  Host networking events with your clients so each client can get to know others. Foster collaboration. 
• Do a strategic alliance with 1 client over Zoom or over a cup of coffee to provide leads and opportunities to them.
• For a while, we offered crime stats for a 6-8 block radius around our client's location, telling them about burglaries, vandalism, assaults, or other crime that's in their area. That way we can keep doors locked and secured and encourage them to do the same.
• Introduce them to potential vendors so they have a wider option for different services, thereby potentially lowering their budget.
• Offer a safety inspection of their facility for free. Point out potential hazards to your staff, theirs, and their guests.
• Identify pest control issues, and their sources. I'm sure you see issues here and there.
• Offer an ebook of community events and best restaurants, and other similar ideas. Or offer a cleaning guide. Do so for free. Your cleaning company can sponsor it. 
• Create a podcast highlighting your clients. Better yet, create a podcast highlighting your client's clients.
• For a long time, we didn't offer any upsell for floor work, like stripping and waxing. It was inclusive in our price. No extra charge! None of our competitors offered that.
• To make us different we offered escape clauses in every contract, with no penalty whatsoever. We made it a 30-day window. Then we changed it to 15 days. None of our competitors offered anything like that, in fact, many wouldn't let you escape for a year.
• I've personally offered my experience as a marketer and offered content and marketing plans to my clients. If they're successful, then we won't have to worry about budget cuts. 
• If familiar with changing out filters, offer a free filter program within your clients' locations. If they provide the filter, offer to replace it without cost. Benefit for them: Cleaner air. Benefit for you: Less dusting. Win-Win.

I hope this information helped in some way. In short, be different. Serve first. And bundle ideas together to create a USP for your business.