It’s what you’re constantly told by your marketing department, marketing agency, copywriter and just about every other Tom, Dick and Harriet.
If your business is to survive you must be unique.
You must offer something no one else offers, work in a way no one else works and achieve things no one else has achieved.
That’s a pretty tall order.
Am I unique?
As a person, yes I am. There is only one of me so that makes me one of a kind. No one else thinks like me, likes exactly the same things as me, wears their hair the same as me, or has identical interests as me.
Of course, when I’m meeting new clients for the first time none of that matters. They want to know what I can offer them that makes me unique.
Well, for starters I write – but then again so does every other copywriter.
I listen carefully, learn your business, challenge your ideas and research your market – but then again so do most other copywriters.
I’ll develop a tone and voice that’s perfect for your brand – but, again, so should other copywriters.
Hmmm.
Working alone I provide continuity, fast response times, a friendly and personal service – not every writer can offer that.
So, if you look at all of those things together, I guess offering them in combination is what makes me unique.
What about you?
Is your business truly unique?
Personally, I doubt there is anyone out there who can honestly say what they do is unique. Other writers influence writers, singers influence other musicians, the latest gadgets influence techie-types and marketers are influenced by the latest marketing trends.
This is all very interesting, but fails to answer the main question – how do you show your uniqueness to potential customers to make them want to do business with you?
Your time to shine
Putting your product or service aside for the moment (which, let’s face it is probably not totally unique), the best way to make yourself stand out is by the way you present yourself.
Your presence online has to be strong to get noticed.
Granted, every time there’s a new fad in web design everyone jumps on board, so your new shiny website won’t look quite so trendy when everyone else is doing the same thing.
That just leaves the way you present yourself through your site and the words you use.
You have to inspire your audience if you want to take notice of you.
That means you have to adopt a strong voice that grabs their attention, holds on to them and doesn’t let them go until they’ve ordered from you.
Employ storytelling techniques to show them how great your product or service is and how it will make their life easier.
Edit until you’re blue in the face to make sure there are no weak words, clichés, jargon, marketing-speak, or empty phrases (such as ‘world-leading’, ‘cutting-edge’, ‘world-class’, ‘market leading’) weighing down your copy.
Write as though you are having a conversation with the reader – they want to experience your personality and passion for what you can do and chatty copy is the best way to achieve that.
It might not sound like a lot, but believe me, when you bring it all together you’ll be amazed at how it will make you stand out from all the other “…we’ve been in business for 10 years and are the market-leaders in…” out there.
Now’s your time to shine: your content is the only thing that’s going to make you stand out.
Don’t make it an after thought. It must be your priority if you truly want your business to succeed.