I mentioned in my blog last week that companies in many industries all sound the same. They often mimic each other’s media placements and platforms. It becomes difficult to tell one business from the next. Studying your competitors is always advisable. However, it can be hard not to copy them. Here is some advice on what to do when everyone advertises the same.
In almost every competitive business category, “sameness” becomes an epidemic. Admittedly, breaking the mold is not easy. But if clients cannot see the difference, why should they choose you? More importantly, why should they remember you?
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to cut through the clutter.
Start By Defining Your Position
Before deciding what to advertise, decide what you want your company to represent. What do you do especially well? What problem do you solve better than your competitors? Then ask the most important question. Why should someone choose you?
Your answer can’t simply be better service, quality, experience or results. Your competitors are probably saying the same things. Instead, find something important to customers that you can credibly own. Being different just to be different will not help. Your difference must matter to the customer.
Learn From The People Who Already Chose You
Sometimes your customers understand your strengths better than you do. Talk to your best customers. Ask why they chose you. Also, ask what other businesses they considered. What made your outfit different? Then try this. Ask what they valued after becoming a customer.
You may discover that customers value something you rarely promote. That insight could become an important part of your position.
Understand What Your Competitors Are Saying
Competitive analysis is still important. However, the trick is not to copy successful competitors. Instead, look for patterns. Study their websites, social media, paid search, video, television and other Advertising. What claims do they make? What words keep appearing?
Also, examine their visuals and offers. If everyone claims great service, that message becomes background noise. The opportunity may be finding something important that nobody else is saying.
Create A Clear And Distinct Identity
There is a difference between differentiation and distinctiveness. Differentiation gives someone a reason to choose you. Distinctiveness helps someone recognize you. You need both.
Research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute has examined this distinction extensively. Distinctive assets can include logos, colors, characters, sounds and other recognizable elements. These elements become stronger when you use them consistently.
Your Advertising should start looking like your Advertising. Ideally, people should recognize your company before they even see the name. I always think of the blue Bed Bath and Beyond mailers.
Develop A Brand Message You Can Own
Next, translate your position into a clear message. Avoid broad statements any competitor could make. Instead, make the message specific, relevant and believable. Then support your claim. Your proof could come from expertise, processes, results, specialization or customer experiences.
A strong brand message should answer the question, “Why should I choose you?” If the answer is unclear, continue working on it.
Consistency Makes The Difference Stronger
Once you establish your position, stay with it. Frequency is your friend. Your website should reinforce it. Your Advertising should reinforce it. Then have your employees reinforce it.
That does not mean every advertisement needs identical copy. Execution can change. However, the central idea should remain recognizable. Consistency builds recognition over time. Changing direction too often forces customers to keep relearning who you are.
Branding And Lead Generation Should Work Together
Companies often separate branding from Lead Generation. I think that is a mistake. Branding builds awareness, familiarity and credibility. Lead Generation asks someone to take the next step.
Research has also found a relationship between brand familiarity, consideration and branded search behavior. Therefore, do not expect every ad to immediately generate a lead. Some Advertising prepares the customer for the moment when they have a need for your product or service. That can make your Lead Generation better.
Do Not Copy Your Competitors’ Media Plans
This step can be challenging. Your biggest competitor uses Connected TV. Should you? Another competitor spends heavily on paid search. Should you match them? Maybe. Maybe not.
Their media strategy reflects their audience, objectives, budget and business situation. Yours may be different. Therefore, competitive Advertising research should provide intelligence, not instructions. Learn from competitors. But, do not automatically follow them.
Study Where Competitors Are Spending
However, competitive media analysis can provide valuable information. Study where competitors advertise. Look at media channels, timing, geography and spending patterns. Then find the gaps.
Nielsen specifically identifies competitive spending data as a tool for finding media gaps. Those white spaces can help marketers develop new media plans.
Maybe competitors are ignoring an important audience. Perhaps everyone fights over the same expensive search terms. There may be less crowded ways to reach the same prospects. That is where a good Advertising Agency should start asking questions.
Define The Objective Before Choosing Media
Every media plan should begin with the business objective. Make sure your goals are clear. Do you need awareness? Qualified leads? Store traffic? Sales? Perhaps you need to grow within a specific geography.
Different objectives require different strategies. Therefore, do not begin by choosing a platform. Start with the business result you need Advertising to produce. Then determine which media can best help achieve it.
Develop A Detailed Ideal Client Profile
Next, decide exactly who you want to reach. You cannot stand out to everyone and you probably don’t want to. Develop an Ideal Client Profile or ICP. Go beyond age and income. Consider behaviors, interests, geography and purchase triggers.
What problem does this person need solved? What matters when choosing a company? Most importantly, where can you reach this person? A better ICP makes your Advertising more focused. That saves money and increases performance.
Use Your CRM To Find Your Best Audiences
Your CRM can help build that profile. Start by examining your best customers. Look for patterns involving geography, purchases, services, revenue and customer value. Then segment those customers into useful groups.
Do not assume every customer represents the same opportunity. Your next great customer may share important characteristics with your current great customers. Use that information when building audiences and selecting media.
Look For Media Where You Can Create An Advantage
The most popular advertising channel is not automatically your best choice. Look across the entire media landscape. Your answer could include CTV, online video, audio, social, search or programmatic Advertising. Traditional media may also provide an opportunity.
The question is not whether a medium is traditional or digital. Ask whether it efficiently reaches your ICP and supports your objective. Sometimes an overlooked medium offers exactly the opportunity you need.
Find Your Own Share Of Voice
You probably cannot outspend every competitor everywhere. Fortunately, you do not need to. Instead, find a place where your budget can have an impact. Look for those white spaces. They don’t have to be large.
Nielsen notes that share of voice can be measured very narrowly. For example, marketers can examine specific channels, markets and time periods. That creates opportunities for smaller advertisers. You might concentrate on one geography, audience or media channel. Own a smaller battlefield instead of getting lost in a big one.
Different Does Not Mean Relevant
There is one important warning. Standing out can become its own objective. That’s dangerous. Being unusual does not automatically make Advertising effective. Your position must still matter to the customer. Ask three questions. Is it different? Will people find it relevant? Is it believable?
You need all three.
Stop Advertising Like Your Competitors
You do not win a crowded category by becoming a louder version of everyone else. First, understand what makes your company worth choosing. Then determine who should care about that difference.
Build a recognizable brand around that position. Next, develop your ICP and define your business objective. Finally, create a media plan around your audience instead of your competitors.
Study your competitors. Learn everything you can from them. But do not automatically mimic them. Sometimes the best Advertising strategy is the one your competitors are not using. And always think about What To Do When Everyone Advertises The Same.
