Creating a unique and marketable brand is not easy; but it can be a vital step in the long-term success of your business.
There are thousands of distributors in North America and almost all of them are providing the products and services you are.
According to David Avrin, visibility coach, your business can blend in with the crowd or step out and be recognized.
Branding your company differently is a good step to doing that, he says.
Speaking to a packed house of distributors Wednesday at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week in Las Vegas, Avrin stressed the importance of marketing what makes you slightly different than your customers than the reasons why you are the same.
“You have to be unexpected,” he says. “You have to be remarkable.”
Arvin says the first step to doing that is discovering what aspect of your business is yours and yours alone. Promote that, he says.
“What is the one thing you own? The one thing you do better than anyone? You should brand your company with that,” Avrin says.
Volvo might not be the safest car company in the world, but customers think that, he says. That’s what the type of thought process Avrin says you should build with your customers. You might not be the top seller of a specific product or service — but you are the best at it.
“You want to be No. 1 in mind share,” he says. “Specialization equals credibility.”
Avrin also warns to avoid buzzwords and marketing-speak when promoting your company to customers and the media.
“Don’t use the marketing blahs, ‘Our customers come first; we really listen, our people make the difference.’ Everyone says that,” he says. Instead, promote your uniqueness and ingenuity. Uses phrases like ‘We are the only distributor that offers …,” or “We were the first distributor to …,” or “We pioneered this …”
Avrin says customers respond to that.
“The four most dangerous words in business are ‘All things being equal,'” he says. “You can’t let things be equal. You have to stand out.”
