Don’t be Better, be Different

Admit it – your customers can find a supplier somewhere in the world with cheaper prices than you. That means that trying to compete based on price is rarely a viable option. What likely differentiates you from others is not your prices, but your service. The logical question then becomes is your service really that different from others. Most managers think great service means their employees are nice. But your competitors know how to be nice too. What distinguishes service as being different is when you focus more on creating trust then merely trying to be nice. Who would you rather do business with – the friend who’s nice, but unreliable, or the professional who makes service commitments and then keeps them consistently? In this economy, nice is average, trust-worthy is different.