The Me-Too Expert Belief is:
Your Brand = Riches
If your expertise is in-demand but without differentiation, there is little loyalty which tends to lead to price & convenience wars.
This is why you hear so often “you must build your brand” and generate awareness for what you offer.
However, more often than not it results in PUSH Positioning where you PUSH yourself into the marketplace and HOPE people pay you attention.
In a sea of competition this is getting harder to do and unless you have the marketing budget of Nike or Coca-Cola, more often than not the tendency is for people to resist “brands”, mainly because there are so many competing for their attention!
This is why as the Internet continues to get ever bigger, you don’t want to try and compete on the volume of your content (at least not alone!).
The GTE Success Mindset Shift #6:
Your Category = Riches
Now this is less easy, but it can be done! And most Experts won’t expend the time or effort to define it.
So how do you do it you ask? Well one way is to take something from another field or industry and add it to your repetoire.
For example, a Personal Trainer could take the principles of EFT and NLP and create a distinctive Weight Loss Coaching programme around thoughts & feelings to rival Weight-Watchers or Slimming World.
OR you can slice and dice and go deeper than everyone else. This works because the CORE reasons why people buy is usually five levels below what most others Experts appeal to. Instead of targeting Weight Loss, you could target Self-Confidence or Self-Image.
Seth Godin has a great presentation on this with the example he uses of sliced bread over at Ted Talks. The same product – bread – but repackaged as sliced bread.
SO Look to Create Your Own Category (ideally of ONE)
Instead of shouting the big “I AM ____” – give your clients a compelling reason to approach you instead – because you are the ONLY logical choice for their unique situation.
The old economy approach centred around campaigns and product launches to create attention; the new economy approach will centre around commitments that foster long-term loyalty.
e.g. Know why your clients buy from you (over everyone else) and deliver on the ONE big result they desire.
Noel Lyons
GO-To Expert Marketing & Strategy
No related posts.
