Rich Elkman of Group Two advertising shared the video below in an email. It’s a great example of the power of differentiation or market positioning.

Market positioning works like this…

• You have a homes to build or remodeling services to provide
• You need a market (people) to buy them
• If these people (your prospects) see your homes and services as “just as good” as your competition, they naturally default to differentiation through price. That is, the lowest price wins.
• You can’t sustain or grow your business by being the low price leader

The phenomenon facing our industry today is called commodification. It’s a word I learned in the book Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore. Your homes and services have been commodified by the media, Realtors and buyers themselves.

And let’s face it, 90% of what you do is exactly what your competitors do- so why should a buyer pay more for your services?

That my friends is the question that floats through your prospects minds every single day. It’s the very reason why being in business for 25 years, being family owned and building quality homes does not cut it. Sure it worked fine when there were more buyers than builders. Today, not so much.

Add to it a 30%+ decline in home values, incredibly tight lending standards and a foreclosure epidemic. Why should a buyer choose your homes or pay more for design build remodeling when Chuck in a Truck will work for wages?

And don’t forget, your biggest competitor is used/lender mediated homes…

• Ask any Realtor what a buyer wants to look at first- foreclosed homes.
• Try getting a future value loan for a large remodeling project- 50%+ of the comps are foreclosures or short sales.

I was first turned on to market positioning back in 2007 when I participated in the Woman-Centric program. The Godfathers of market positioning are Jack Trout & Al Reis. They wrote a couple of books that are worthwhile reads. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing and Positioning- the Battle for You Mind.

Simply defined, market positioning is creating the perception in the minds of your prospects that your services/homes are unique, special and different. In other words, they can’t be compared to your competitors. You become a big fish in a small pond by appealing to a select group of people willing to pay more for your stuff.

The first step in positioning or re-positioning your business is understanding your target market (and identifying a viable target market). Basically outsmarting your competition. I wrote a book called The Ultimate System for Attracting Home Buyers that teaches you how to do just that. AND, I’m offering you a holiday savings coupon too- 20% off. That will give you free shipping plus take another $10+ off the book. Just use the coupon code gdctrial2011.

You can discover more about The Ultimate System for Attracting Home Buyers and order the book here > >

Enjoy the video.

Happy Selling!

~Rick

P.S. My 20% off Holiday Special expires on December 25th. So go ahead and buy yourself an early Christmas present here > >

Remember to use coupon code gdctrial2011 at the checkout.