Article - Separating Yourself From the Rest
READ: 2 mins
AUTHOR: Robert Craven
There is plenty of cheap talk out there about how to differentiate yourself from the rest. You know the sort of things I mean: find your why, define your USP, differentiate through expertise. Or industry focus. Or authority. Or content. Or branding. Or pricing. Everyone is at it.
At one level the way you can differentiate your agency is by focusing on what is unique, namely your people and your systems. Or any of the items above, IF and only IF, you believe this will be relevant for your potential customers. Too often people differentiate their agency through their own eyes only eg “we are the only agency where everyone is vegan”. Ask, “who cares?”. If no-one cares, ditch it and start again.
I would propose that you could start to separate yourself by looking at:
What you want to change in the market or industry
What is going on right now that you think is wrong, bad or inappropriate.
This approach enables you to stand for something. To take a position so that potential clients can identify with your aspirations.
Let’s present some examples.
What do we want to change in the market or industry
Web design agency:
Clients need to recognise they get what they pay for
Web design without SEO is a total waste of time
PPC agency:
PPC isn’t just Google Ads
Start with the customer; tactics come last
Full service agency:
Do not assume all full service agencies deliver a broad spectrum of mediocre services
You can find an agency that will work and deliver on a payment by results basis
CX agency:
Customer is King, so is their experience and so is the ROI
Marketing without CXO is like driving blindfolded
PR agency:
PR is dead. Long Live PR in the digital world
For PR, read ‘content marketing’
What is going on right now that we think is wrong or bad
Web design agency:
Wrong: agencies getting rubbish briefs
Wrong: clients interfering while buying us for our expertise
PPC agency:
Wrong: thinking that PPC can thrive in isolation
Bad: believing that attribution stats tell the story
Full service agency:
Bad: delegating who joins all the marketing dots
Bad: not talking about results
CX agency:
Wrong: blaming the other types of agencies
Bad: talking tactics before strategy
PR agency:
Bad: expecting us to put lipstick on the pig
Bad: bringing in the PR team as an after thought
So, what do you stand for?