What Makes Your Business UNIQUE? Define Your UCD: Part 1 or 2

Perception Is The Reality—People Buy Based On Differences They Perceive

Imagine you’re very hungry.  You’re walking down the street and you see two delicatessens right next to each other. The one on the left looks like an average deli—reasonably clean, a range of food items, a few people inside, and a sign on the window that displays the name and the year it was established.

But as you look at the deli on the right, the difference between the two is obvious in an instant. There’s a big sign on the front window that says “Passionate about food!”  Underneath that it says “At Urban Deli we are passionate about food and the pleasure it brings.  After years of practice, we have developed a range of sandwiches, salads, soups and desserts that are unique, delicious, healthy and freshly prepared each morning in this shop.  We bake our own bread and pastries, and insist on providing you with the highest quality and quickest service…all with a smile.”  Not surprisingly, this deli is packed with smiling people.

Based on that initial assessment, which deli would you most likely step into first?  Why?  Was it because the deli on the right seemed to offer something better or more appealing? Could it be true that both deli’s offered similar products?

It’s the differences that potential customers perceive that make them choose one business over another.  And those differences make the customer feel more confident about their final decision as well.

That means you must differentiate your business—or develop what we call Unique Core Differentiators or UCDs.

Unique Core Differentiators

Unique Core Differentiators (UCDs) clearly articulate what makes your business different.

They are the special things about your product or service or business that compel customers to buy from you rather than your competitors.

UCDs target real buying concerns, key frustrations and benefits for your customers.

They form the “core” of your business, permeating every area, in order to fulfill the differentiation promise.

UCDs must be communicated in all of your marketing activities in order to work effectively.

 Do You Have Any Unique Core Differentiators?

Think for a few moments about some of the things you think are unique about your business and record them down for later.

It could be that your business offers a better, or more unique product or service.  Or perhaps
the specific way you deliver the product or service brings better results for your customers.  Maybe you offer a better value, or the experience within your team far exceeds the competitors.

1. They articulate exactly what your customer wants:
   well-formed differentiators target your customer’s “hot buttons,” buying concerns, or key frustrations.  In
   one statement it educates them on exactly why they should buy from you
2. They improve the results from your marketing: Makes you highlight the “benefits” of your product or service rather
   than just the “features” in all of your marketing activities
3. They give a specific focus to your team:  Gives a consistency of purpose to everyone on your team in the way they present themselves and deal with customers to support what you’ve said differentiates you
4. They improve the operation:  They must sit at the “core” of your entire business and the systems you employ
5. They help increase sales:  Brings customers in, keeps them coming back again and again, and builds a referral network—all without ever lowering your prices

Examples Of UCDs

• Shipping company:  “Absolutely, positively overnight” created a point of differentiation among shipping companies for Federal Express.  They also had to improve the core of their
  operation in order to deliver on their promise
• Dentist:  “Our aim is for you to enjoy your visit” providing a beverage service in a comforting setting and a 12 page booklet on what differentiates them is given to each client
•  Construction company:  “We will pay you $100 for every day we go over the targeted completion date” targets customers’ key frustration with builders…that the deadline is hardly every met
• Grocery store:  “The fresh food people” targets customers’ desire for the freshest produce
• Retail clothing store:  “Every customer demand will be met…without question” has customers purchasing again and again from Nordstrom—their personalized customer service is also a differentiator

Unlocking, discovering or creating UCDs in your business can be a key to generating better results from your marketing and sales efforts.

When you’re are examining the ways in which your business operates and what it delivers is unique, remember that there are three types of UCDs:

1. Actual UCDs:  when there is something genuinely
   unique about your product or service

Example:  “Parts Overnight”

The founder of this very successful company realized that it was next to impossible to fix a laser printer overnight…the average turnaround time was 6 weeks.  Why?  Because only a couple of very large companies carried the spare parts for technicians to order.  Because he guessed that people might like to get their fixed printer sooner than that, he developed a unique way to deliver printer parts overnight to technicians, and offered a guarantee on
quality.  The technicians are happy because their customers are happy, and the company went from $4,000 to $20 million in just 4 years.

  2. Created UCDs

Did you come up with a list of things that differentiate your product or service from your competitors? Perhaps you can’t find anything that is truly unique about it.   If that’s the case, you’ll need to create a point of differentiation.  It helps to examine the WAY you do business rather than just the product or service.

For example:

• A guarantee unlike any other offered in your
  industry
• A level of after-sales service that surpasses
  all others
• A unique delivery or installation process
• An 800 service hotline

Example:  Wholesale
Baker offers a risk-free guarantee…if the retailer does not sell the baked goods, the baker will buy them back at full price.  Captured the majority of the local market because it solved a key customer frustration and gave them a reason to buy from him.  They don’t even mind paying a slightly higher price because of the guarantee.  He removed his own risk by qualifying the guarantee with “after you’ve paid within 7 days of delivery.”

  3. Perceived UCDs

You may still not have anything in your business that’s totally unique.  But if you’re the first
to articulate a perceived difference (even though your competitors do the same) you’ll stand out in the crowd as if you are unique.

Examples:  Coors Beer tells the story of how their beer is made with water from the freshest
springs in the mountains to give it its special taste.  When in actuality, Coors is made the same as its competitors’.  The only difference is that no one else used it in their marketing.

Mercedes Benz does the same thing with safety.