By Stacy Karacostas

This week, I want to share a little story with you…

You see, the other day I was working with a client to come up with an effective Unique Selling Proposition for his business (basically, something that sets him apart from his competition).

As a chiropractor, he has plenty of competition-there are six other chiropractic clinics within a two-mile radius.

Which means that figuring out how to differentiate him from the doctor literally down the street, is critical.

So I scheduled a brainstorming meeting with my client and his staff to talk about what they provide that might be valuable to his target market.

Throughout the meeting, staff and Doctor alike kept throwing out features like:

• We have more convenient hours
• We have an in-house X-Ray machine
• We are relaxed and kid-friendly
• We offer treatments for infants through elderly
• We have payment plans
• We see emergencies same-day
• The staff has a pleasant, upbeat energy
• The doctor has 12 years of experience
• We have a massage therapist
• We use special exercises to strengthen and loosen your spine.

At first glance, it seems like we could have the making of a solid Unique Selling Proposition based on convenience (good hours, payment plans, on-site services, etc). Except for one problem…none of these features were any different from what the other chiropractors were doing and marketing.

How do I know? Because I picked up the phone and called the competition to find out.

The result?

I discovered that every clinic in the area has almost the same hours, and offers payment plans, in-house x-rays and same day emergency care. And all but one clinic had massage therapists on staff. Nothing unique there.

One clinic specializes in offering posture therapies and uses many of the same exercises as my client. And although only one other clinic focuses primarily on pediatrics, most advertise care for infants through elderly. So much for those ideas.

As for experience...Three doctors had many more years of experience, one had about the same amount, and two had just a couple years less. Again, no help.

Now, can you guess what would have happened if I hadn't taken the time to survey of the competition? My client would have wasted a ton of time and money on marketing that was not going to make his practice stand out from the crowd.

Because before I did the research, he was positive that convenience and experience were what made him unique and worth choosing over his competition. But all I had to do was pick up the phone, and within an hour I could tell this wasn't the case.

And you can use this same technique to discover all kinds of information that can have a tremendous impact on your success.

Here are a few more examples to get you started…

* Wondering if there is any demand for a new product or service you are considering launching? Just give your clients a call and ask them what their needs or problems are. If it seems like you might have a good fit, don't hesitate to ask them if they would be interested in what you are planning to offer.

* Not sure how to price a product or service? Call a few competitors and ask for their pricing.

* Trying to decide what information to cover in a workshop? Pick up the phone and ask your customers what they would like to know.

Making a few telephone calls is simple, fast and cost-effective. Yet it is amazing how few business owners ever research the competition, their target market or frankly anything at all.

Unfortunately making business and marketing decisions based solely on your own, insulated point of view is almost always a mistake.

Instead, you need to get in touch with what's going on in your customer's and competition's worlds. Do this and you will have taken a giant step down the road to success.

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