What makes you different from your competitors

[AngelaE]

Hi,

I was just wondering among all small business owners what makes you diffferent from your competitors? What is your unique selling point that makes you the company of choice?

Does anyone do anything unusual and unique that makes you stand out?

 

[RBS]

Hi,

I was just wondering among all small business owners what makes you diffferent from your competitors?

Its quite simple:

I do:
-return phone calls
-reply to emails
-turn up on time
-not lie
-charge reasonable cost for high quality service

You will be surprised how many owners don`t follow these, very basic rules.

 

[Saxon Heights]

I'm in insurance, I found that the places I worked before encouraged me to be dishonest and a bit aggresive. Now I'm on my own I can decide how to do things.

Now I can just be nice to people and I get probably the same amount of work from this, would be frowned upon where I was.

I like getting people lower premiums as well.

 

[HFE Signs]

lol at rob - have to agree with you, seems a lot of folks don't do this these days..

 

[dynamic08]

Im cheaper.

Better quality

faster service.

on negative side not enough people find me

 

[deniser]

We carry vast amounts of stock; others in my sector only order in when a customer orders so they can't deal with a quick delivery.

 

[JohnnyCash]

I do absolutely nothing that my competitors didn't do long before me. I show up higher in Google though.

 

[HFE Signs]

Best thing is to be honest, reliable and communicate - good quality product / service at a good price and you can't go far wrong...

 

[crphillips]

I get my work via the following methods:

I always answer the phone

I always call people back

I turn up when i'm supposed to

I always call in advance if running late (customer love this)

I always answer emails

My customer always receive a quote no matter how crap the job (although i may put a big price in)

Quotes are either given there and then or received by the customer within 12 hours of seeing the job (leaving the customer with a quote there and then is probably one thing that makes the biggest difference).

I always make an effort to make friends with the customer.

Turn out top quality workmanship (we're not cheap either)

Arrive in tidy vans, lads in tidy uniform, tidy tools and leave the house clean and tidy

We win most of the jobs we quote for and we're usually more expensive than our competitors. They're all pretty useless though

 

[jhardy2008]

only one word Honesty

 

[BustersDogs]

I don't judge, I take away the pain and guilt, and don't bother customers with my problems. A lot of people feel guilty leaving their dogs and cats at home, even if just while they are out at work. But what comes out most in my testimonials are the words reliable & trustworthy. Plus I also love what I do, so I never make people feel as if they are a bother, even if really they are. As one client told me, I charge a fair price for a great service, although those fair prices are going up in September because they've been the same for 3 years...

I also aim to do nothing with the dogs that will impact on their behaviour at home in a negative way.

 

[Rhyl Lightworks]

All that has been mentioned is important, but in selling to the public, one thing hasn't been mentioned yet, which I feel is the most important of all, especially when your main competitors are the multiples like B&Q, Comet, Curry's et al. That is to be an expert on what you are selling - know your products - something that the multiples patently do not.

Barrie

 

[AngelaE]

Thanks all for your input. I guess the hard part is the first stage of
starting to get the reputation for being reliable trustworthy etc.

 

[No Missed Calls]

We're different to our competitors because we are

- Pay as you go
- Flexible
- Personal & professional
- Easy to work with
- Dedicated to exceeding customer expectations

Emma

 

[ivebeenstiffed]

I have the ONLY complete database of Local Authority Hackney Tariffs.