One sentence that will elevate you above your business competitors
Trying to stand out (especially if you’re a new business) is extremely difficult and can be overwhelming.
It might seem futile and impossible to not sound big-headed, but analysing your own strengths and weaknesses is the most effective way to hook new potential customers.
Together we are going to create your “unique-ness factor” statement, to place loud and proud on your website, in order to help you navigate your super-saturated market and locate your niche.
By refining your audience to the people who you can best serve, we can help those who will find the most value in what you offer.
What is my “unique-ness factor”?
To put this into context, I’ve worked for other people for so long in the service industry. The companies that I worked for had a lot of personality, but they were missing a trick.
The jobs were repetitive and I could see a clear disconnect between what the company was offering and the end user/client.
The service these companies were offering were sold in quite generic ways, similar to that of their business competitors.
I’ve worked for a gazillion other people (the most notable being a couple of ski schools & backcountry touring companies in Japan, a few surf schools in Cornwall, even a dance company helping chaperone and do demonstrations, a marketing internship at a well-known indoor rainforest, helping design sets for a circus, selling spa breaks, working at a farm-come-restaurant-come-music-venue, plus making & marketing my own handmade surfboard covers).
From an outsider’s perspective, there was nothing special to make them stand out.
From working on the inside of these businesses, I knew that wasn’t the case. The reason I have had such long-lasting relationships with these business owners was because they offered something a little different, they were more passionate than anyone else, had more experience or a higher level of expertise that made the company so innovative and exciting to work for.
So I felt it my moral obligation to help these companies make sure they were standing out from the crowd and their “unique-ness factor” was used to catch people’s attention, helping them build the brand credibility they deserved.
HOW CAN I STAND OUT FROM MY BUSINESS COMPETITORS?
How can you make sure you’re not getting lost in the sea of competitors but show you have that something special to rise above the rest?
Is there any point, when all the other businesses out there are much more well instated and already have shown success in their field?
The key to elevating yourself above your competition (and make sure that a potential customer knows why you are worth their time and trust, instead of an alternative business) is finding your “unique-ness factor” statement.
Size yourself up, side-by-side with your business competitors and work out what makes you different, where there is room to fill a gap with a new niche, or potential to one-up those other companies that you want to be better than (and even steal customers from).
What can you do better than your competition?
What is the defining factor that will make people choose you over anyone else?
Are you the top dog when it comes to the equipment or technology you use?
Do you have the most experienced coaches?
Do you offer killer customer service, aftercare, or freebies?
Is there room to improve your service, in areas that your competitors excel in?
Do you offer unparalleled value, that you ask your customers nothing in return for, e.g. customer service, aftercare, free trials, bring a friend for free (making them feel appreciated)?
Position yourself as an expert in your field and show the one reason why you’re worth the time and attention of a potential customer.
WHAT IF MY BUSINESS COMPETITORS ARE MORE EXPERIENCED THAN ME?
Imagine there are two wedding photographers: one of them has been taking photos as a hobby for a couple of years, and has finally decided they want to try and turn it into a source of income.
The other photographer has been in the industry for 20 years, it’s been their only source of income since they started and they have a huge portfolio.
The photographer newbie has created their “unique-ness factor” statement and it sits at the top of their home page, making sure everyone who visits their site knows the unique, personalised service offered and the photo-books they provide the happy couple after the big day.
The veteran photographer’s website is a bit of a mess: the first thing anyone sees on their website is a picture of the photographer, and the extent of the service that they offer is hidden at the bottom of the page.
From first impressions, any bride-to-be who lands on these two websites is almost certainly going to pay more attention to the photographer who makes it clear what elevates them above their competitors, completely irrespective of how much experience they have.
So having this clarity and focus on the experience of your end user from the very start can help you surpass your experienced or expert competitors.
People don't have a very long attention span these days.
So just by hooking them early on with one little sentence, you have the power to scrub out years of practice and extensive portfolios. This is the first step of their journey to becoming a paying customer.
I found my “unique-ness factor” hard to define at the very beginning.
I knew I wanted to help small businesses, but there are a lot of writers and website designers and digital marketing experts out there. But I thought about my experiences and how that might be different from the other digital marketers out there.
My “unique-ness factor” is my unique insight into these industries and my focus on the psychology that motivates people to act (but also which holds them back from trusting, acting and investing).
How do I create a “unique-ness factor” statement?
Your “unique-ness factor” statement needs to be to the point, attention-grabbing, and impactful.
People’s lives are so busy these days, with so much competition, everyone vying for your attention, you need something special to be heard above the noise.
And people are selfish — they need to know from the get-go that there’s something in it for them, and they want an experience better than anyone else's. They need to know that their investment of time and trust in you is going to be worth it.
Use this formula to weave together your ‘unique-ness factor” statement:
1.What sets you apart from the competition
Use a strong adjective that makes your product or service more accessible, affordable or unique.
e.g. step-by-step/affordable/a holistic approach to/easy to use/hand-crafted
2. What exactly do you offer?
The product or service you’re trying to sell.
e.g. relationship coaching/photo shoots/remote yoga lessons/artisan homeware/courses or workbooks of some kind
3. What is a benefit for your customer/client when choosing your business?
Think of a benefit that gives your customer immediate gratification when buying your product or booking your services.
e.g. streamline work or spend less time at your desk/make more money/bring some peace into your home-life/be the envy of all your friends
4. How does what you offer solve your ideal client’s problem in the long-term?
Think of a real life benefit to their work or home lifestyle, something that is made easier for them, something that has a knock-on effect into their everyday.
e.g. more time to spend with the family/feel more confident/find more energy in your everyday/make more money/reconnect with yourself/transform your house into a home
To use my own MINI-WEBSITE AUDIT SERVICE as an example…
What sets me apart from the competition: I use a holistic process: seeing the interconnectivity between copy, UX, design + the customer journey (and sometimes SEO too)
What I’m offering: An audit or written recommendations to improve flow + engagement on your site (of up to 3 pages + some of these sessions also include a Power-Hour)
An immediate benefit of working with me: You’ll no longer feel like you’re forever making tiny tweaks on your site, but with no idea whats working + whats now
A long term benefit of working with me: You’ll be able to see more clicks on your site (so you don’t have to spend so much time on Instafaff) but still be able to build a profitable business
We need to combine these 4 factors to create a statement that will immediately show website scrollers and potential clients that what I offer is unique and of more value to them than anyone else doing something similar to me.
So my by fitting these 4 bits of info together, my “unique-ness factor” statement would be:
“Holistic website audits, so you can finally check “re-do website” + start focussing on all the extra engagement you’re seeing on your site. That means that instead of scratching around for new leads, you’ve got more time to reinvest into your business.”
So when someone sees my statement, a potential customer will immediately get the feeling that I’m not just another copywriter that uses best-practices to suggest copy improvements.
I’m not out to make a quick-buck, but I go into a lot more detail with a client than my competitors, when it comes to understanding the journey their customers go on to get to their final destination (i.e. hit your website goals).
I’m not one of those website designers whose websites all look the same, trying to bosh out as many as possible in the shortest time possible, but instead want to make a sustained, long-term change in the lives of my clients.
The aim of having a “unique-ness factor” statement is to get a potential customer intrigued, piquing their attention so they want to stick around and find out more about you and what you offer.
You need something punchy and stand-out to get someone to invest their time in you (bother reading what you’ve got to say, and make them be bothered to leave social media to click on your website to find out more).
Where should I position it on my website?
It should be above the fold so is absolutely unavoidable, and you can be certain that a potential customer on your website has seen that defining factor from the first instant they find you online.
[N.B. The ‘fold’ is the invisible line that sits at the bottom of the screen when a web page first loads. It’s cuts of the first view of a web page from the rest of the content you need to scroll down to see.]
It isn’t just your home page that should display the thing that sets you apart from the rest. Imagine someone finds your website but the home page isn’t the first page they land on, but a site visitor instead arrives on your site on the ‘about’ page or your shop section. Make sure that there is something right at the top of the page that wants them to stick around and keep scrolling.
*Top tip* It may sound repetitive to repeat the same statement at the top of each of your web pages, so are there different variations of your “unique-ness factor” statement that you can sprinkle through your site?
Using this statement can also be used for your social media bio, making sure whoever lands on your Instagram or Facebook page knows from the start, what makes you different and more worth their time than your business competitors.
Your online presence should stop someone in their tracks.
Hooking a potential customer is fundamental to starting them on their journey, turning from a passive scroller into an avid fan and return customer.
if you Want to make more that just a good first impression on your website
sounds like you need to borrow my Website Goggles
