IDEA: What can your company do to differentiate itself from the competition? Try this list of suggestions.

All companies seek to be different to get of the rest of the market. They offer unique products, perform needed services better than the next guy or develop products on their own that cannot be bought anywhere else. The problem with all of these efforts is that they may not be appreciated by the buying public.  Find out what companies and buyers want and give it to them for a price.

Ideas to differentiate your product, service or consumer experience:

• Free items: Always give something away free to your customers that has a high perceived value in the market
• Special sales: Always have something wanted on sale, specially priced, one item coupled with another complementary item at a bargain price
• Bargains visible to all customers:  Feature special bargain items in major aisle-ways so as not to be missed.
• Knowledgeable friendly employees: Train your employees to know what is the store special every day and constantly test them as to their knowledge. They can and should all be friendly with customers.
• Tell buyers how to use your products: Give your customers lots of ideas for using products they might want to buy
• Tell buyers benefits of your products: Give your customers a list of benefits they derive from having your company’s product or service. Help them justify spending the money.
• Make your website search engine work. Always come up with search results. Fold in the failed results every week back into your database. Cull through those words or ideas that were received from the public every week. Make sure those terms generate results or suggestion results the next time.
• Various product offerings (colors, finishes, textures, sizes and price levels): Offer your widget in designer colors, patterns, unique design no one else has (cheaper versions if possible),
• Encourage questions: Make it easy to ask questions in a store.
• Encourage complaints: Make it easy to complain in your store.
• Encourage / teach helpful attitudes: Train your employees to greet and help customers.  Talk first. Offer help
• Offer the unique and hard-to-find: Try to offer something no one else offers (i.e. hotdogs with special sauce, blouses with special hand-sewn designs, company stationary with unique designs, hamburger offered with small sample of onion rings, packets of featured sauces, small bags of hot pickles this week, tire change and all windshields cleaned free, oil change plus all tire air pressures checked).