bizlife Column Seven
By Nido Qubein

Take a sleek looking roadster, strip it of all identifying marks, give it a $40,000 sticker price, put it on your sales lot and wait for the customers to pounce. You may wait a while.

Take the identical car, set a three-pointed star in the middle of the grille, add the identifying insignia SLK-32 to the rear, and watch the action. When the word gets out, customers will be willing to buy the vehicle at $15,000 over your advertised price.

What 's the difference?

The difference is that your customers are looking at a Mercedes-Benz roadster and they know it. The three-pointed star and the SLK-32 designation add nothing to the performance or comfort of the car. But they add immensely to the value.

That 's because Mercedes-Benz has established a differential advantage that distinguishes its vehicles from the ordinary run of cars. Once customers have seen that three-pointed star, you don 't have to convince them that this is a vehicle that offers quality, performance and prestige.

Every business and every product needs a differential advantage – some quality that sets it off from the competition. It must be an advantage as readily recognizable as the Mercedes-Benz star. Your customers must be able to see themselves benefiting from it as vividly as Mercedes customers can see themselves benefiting from the power and handling of the SLK-32; it must be as obvious as the invigorating feel of wind in the hair on a warm day in a top-down convertible.

What is your DA? Only you can decide. But when your customers can instantly spot the value in it for themselves, you 've achieved it. The better you can translate your unique marketing advantage into specific value to the customer, the stronger will be your marketing appeal.

But before you can sell your clients and customers, you have to sell the people within your company. That means you have to market internally. You have to sell your own people – even yourself – on investing the resources necessary to do the job and do it right.

This calls for leaders rather than commanders in your executive and supervisory ranks. Leaders must be teachable – open to new ideas and methods. They must be willing to adjust to change. They must exemplify the qualities of flexibility, creativity and sensitivity. With that kind of leadership, your people will give your products or services a differential advantage as bright as a three-pointed star.

ARTICLE TAGLINE FOR Nido Qubein

Nido Qubein is an international speaker and consultant.

Visit his website at www.nidoqubein.com,
write to Creative Services, Inc.,
P. O. Box 6008, High Point, NC 27262, or call 1-800-989-3010.

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