The Undeniable Value Of Differentiation

With all the people offering products and services online, what sets yours apart from the crowd?

You can't argue this, to succeed you need to differentiate yourself.

Online businesses come and go every day and about 90% fail.

The reasons online businesses fail vary from situation to situation, here's a few:

• It could be that the business owners didn't educate themselves properly

• It could be that the netreprenuer didn't market correctly

• It could be that the webmaster didn't develop a product people were actually willing to pay for

• It could be that the newbie didn't spend enough time creating and leveraging the right types of relationships

• It could be that the inexperienced Internet marketer didn't remember to be thorough and calculated with their product offering, sales copy, packaging, traffic plan, etc.

All of the above reasons are valid and one of the most common reasons the product offering itself fails, is because the niche market that the business owner is marketing in is semi-saturated and the marketer had no "differentiator".

A differentiator is anything that makes your unique selling proposition differ from any other by the benefits it delivers to the user. Those benefits need to be itemized in the sales copy to make sure the prospect will understand what makes the offering specific to his/her needs.

A differentiator could simply be a different angle or viewpoint on some problem or product not currently realized by anyone else.

How many ebooks have been written about Internet marketing? Hundreds if not thousands...the ones that make money have easily identifiable differentiators.

A differentiator could be an added bonus to your product offering that the prospect can't get anywhere else.

**Simple example:

Suppose there are 2 products that a prospect is considering purchasing.

* Product offering #1 offers a bonus that can be easily found on the Internet.

* Product offering #2 offers a bonus that is exclusive to this offering itself that cannot be obtained anywhere else other than through this specific offering.

If both products are equal in benefits to the user and have the same price, which product offering will the prospect choose?

Of course, the prospect will choose Product #2 because of the "exclusivity" of the bonus. That exclusivity is a differentiator.

A differentiator could be a discount on a service that no one else in your niche offers. A differentiator could simply be a promise to respond to customer inquiries within 24 hours.

The trait that defines a truly effective differentiator is uniqueness.

A differentiator could even be something as simple as the packaging of the sales process of a product or service itself. The packaging of a product includes graphics, format of delivery, appearance of web presence, etc.

With regards to graphics, it is important to understand that people respond positively to visually pleasing graphics regardless of whether the end product of offering is actually affected by those graphics. Due to the average person's reluctance to buy online, the better things look, the better the prospect feels about moving forward with a purchase.

In the online world, the prospect decides to purchase a product or service that is being marketed to them somewhat "virtually"...it is intangible to them until they buy. In this instance, a differentiator could be something as simple as slick graphic or choice of product format-pdf, exe, audio, RAM, MP3, etc.

Before you can actually identify a truly effective differentiator for the product offering, a good amount of competitive intelligence needs to be done within the appropriate vertical niche market.

Begin by reviewing all products and services that could be perceived as competitors in that niche market and define the differentiator from there.

Whatever type of differentiator is chosen, it's vital to make certain the prospect clearly can understand the value of it by itemizing the benefits it brings to them.

This is often overlooked and equates to unrealized sales.

Be humble, work smart, keep it simple.

Karl Augustine

"The Regular Guy"

(c) Karl Augustine

About The Author

Karl Augustine

Author of "9 Deadly Mistakes To Avoid When Starting An Online Business".

Publisher, "Starting Smart" bi-weekly ezine for new and semi-seasoned Internet marketers.

starting an online business

http://startingsmart.9mistakes-online.com

---

How To Use the Multiplier Effect in Web Marketing

One of the most exciting things about doing business online... Read More

How to Start an Internet Business

The first thing I must say is it's a mine... Read More

Free Content -- or Forbidden Fruit?

Dear Cathy:I just found an interesting article on someone else's... Read More

How Your Hobbies Can Help You With Your Business

Everyone has a hobby or interest that they have a... Read More

New Product Launch Checklist

Launching a new product or service is an exciting time... Read More

Internet Profits the Smart Way: Let Your Business Fund Itself

Although many Internet marketers spend thousands of dollars on Internet... Read More

Internet Marketing And Public Speaking: Ten Tips For When The Twain Shall Meet

Internet marketing and public speaking? Not quite ham and eggs,... Read More

Seven Tips For A Successful Internet Marketing Campaign

Often there can seem to be very little difference between... Read More

Competitor Analysis - How Writing Rubbish Can Give You an Edge

The Gobbledygook Competitor Analysis TipWhen typing cap can tell you... Read More

Niche Marketing: Finding JV Partners

Joint Ventures (JVs) are one of the most powerfull techniques... Read More

Seven Steps to Starting Your Internet Business

There is no reason to be afraid of creating an... Read More

How to Use Viral Marketing for Online Profit

When Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith founded Hotmail.com they promoted... Read More

Internet Marketing Online: How To Help Yourself By Helping Others

If you want to go far in business, and be... Read More

Internet Marketing Strategy:The Advertising Co-op

The advertising co-op is an Internet marketing strategy that should... Read More

Internet Promotion - Advantages and Disadvantages

The emergence of globalise trade, increase in foreign investment and... Read More

Cut Out the B.S. in Your Internet Marketing

Are you getting disgusted with your results as an internet... Read More

Now, Even A Monkey Could Easily Accept Online Payments

I just came across this web site called PayDotCom.comAfter reviewing... Read More

Marketing Gurus: Do You Need One?

Its become fashionable to bash marketing "gurus" nowadays.There are some... Read More

Personality Profiling Your Prospects for Internet Marketing, E Commerce, and Ebay Ads

Do you want me to tell you the truth or... Read More

10 Search Tips for Internet Marketers

From kids to the old, everybody searches and search engines... Read More

Online Sales: 10 High Octane Online Sales Generators

Do you want to spark up sales at your website?If... Read More

What Rich Internet Marketers Know That You Dont

Thirty years ago, I sold information via small classified ads... Read More

Discover Which Sales Triggers Are Most Effective When Mixed With SEO!

We all know the importance of gaining top visibility to... Read More

How Do You Live the Internet Dream? Automate, Automate, Automate!

There's no doubt that one of the things that excited... Read More

Profiting From Your Online Business

Creating a lucrative online business is not an easy task.... Read More