To win more business, focus on what makes your practice unique

Give your clients an irresistible reason to work with your practice by promoting your ‘unique selling proposition’

Competitive advantage is essential to business success. You can create a competitive advantage for your practice by identifying and promoting your unique selling proposition across all of your marketing activities.

Here are three ways your practice may claim a competitive advantage:

1. Better service

Offering a product or service of the highest quality is one of the easiest ways to distinguish your brand.

2. Faster service

It seems everyone is in a big hurry these days. Being quick can create a powerful competitive advantage. If speed is important to your clients, go about building an efficient business that completes jobs quickly and accurately.

3. Different service

Perhaps your practice does something others do not. It may be something small yet significant, like a 24-hour response time, unbelievable client perks, or client invitations to rich learning events. Explore all of your practice features to identify something truly unique.

Think about your own competitive advantage

It may take some time to identify your competitive advantage and more than a little soul-searching.

During the process, be sure to ask practice stakeholders to submit their thoughts—talk with partners, employees, clients, suppliers, and other professionals. They will likely bring a different perspective on what makes your practice unique.

Be sure to assess your competitors’ unique selling proposition as well. Take a look at what the other players in your market are doing to stand out.

To find your unique selling proposition (USP), ask the question, “What do we do best?” Here are some examples to get you thinking:

• Your practice delivers amazing business advice because the partners are highly educated and experienced.
• You offer monthly business monitoring to help clients improve profits.
• Clients enjoy lightning-fast customer service.
• You offer an all-in-one package of accounting services, advisory services, audit insurance, and more.
• Because your practice focuses on a particular industry, your team can provide unique industry insights.

Don’t compete on price

It’s best to avoid competing on price because it’s a race to the bottom in terms of profit. Service professionals do not want to be known as the lowest price option.

Roll it out

The next step is to promote your new unique selling proposition within your marketing activities.

• Update your website with your USP
• Add a line to outgoing emails in the signature line. (E.g.) “We guarantee our work with audit insurance—ask us for details.”
• Modify any marketing brochures or flyers
• Use your USP in social media
• Make sure your team is promoting it
• Start to present your USP in prospect meetings and during any seminars or webinars you may deliver

Standing out in the marketplace should make the job of prospecting for new business easier because your good reputation will proceed you. Take the time to craft your unique selling proposition and stick with it for as long as it continues to resonate with prospects and clients.