Uniqueness is power

Most business people complain of the existence of competition around them and engage in a boastful saga of their heroics in beating the competition. They find consolation in comparing the competitors' performance with theirs... 'ah I could do at least this in the midsts of competition' this is the favourite punch the business people make.

Subconsciously these business people wish to be the kings of monopoly. Thier wish is genuine; all are in the market to make smart money. To become smart a bit of hard work is required. To become king in the market, one has to build a unique value in the respective business.

But how can we do that?

Understand customers, find their needs and do something about it.

Customers are attracted by different attributes. Some are intrested in cost, some are intrested in quality, some are intrested in quantity, while others are intrested in the image of the business organisation.

The major dimensions that provide uniqueness to the business include the following.......

• Cost: In every market there is a set of customers who buy solely on the basis of low cost. If there is a large pool of customers who wish to buy at cheaper price then least cost product / service will win. But there can only be one low-cost producer at a time. If you can be the least cost manufacturer, 'make it cheap' shall be your mantra.
• Quality and Relaibility: A doctor once told he prefers to use a foriegn brand sthethescope even though it is costly by three times that of an Indian-made , He prefers the former becuase it is reliable and durable. Though Indian made 'steth' is low cost and functions as good as a foriengn one, it sometimes get faulty while examining a patient in critical state. Valuable time is lost in changing the 'steth'. This example very well highlights the need for quality among customers. A business can focus on the quality of the product / service and the mantra to be followed is "make it good"
• Speed of Delivery: In some markets the ability of the business to deliver more quickly matters. A courier company falls into this category of business. The mantra here is "make it fast"
• Reliable Delivery: This is another dimension of uniqueness that relates to the ability of the organisation to supply the product/service on or before promised date / time. The mantra for building this kind of uniqueness is "deliver as per the promise"
• Meet the demand: The ability to meet the demands of the market is yet another uniqueness. There may be organisations that can provide low cost or high quality products , but if it cannot provide the product / service when there is larger demand then the market may look for alternatives. The mantra for this is " prepare for different volumes" .
• Introduce new product / service: Some needs of the customer may demand something new. In such cases offer a new product / service. The ability to make new product is a uniqueness in itself. The mantra here is " Innovate the product / service".
  
• Provide allied services: There are certain dimensions for uniqueness in terms of technical information, product training, after sale care, financing the product, delivery and installation etc. Build such services around the product to make the business unique. The mantra to be followed is " support the product / service".

No one can be unique in all the dimensions : choosing the best suitable dimesion to the given situation is what is desirable. Uniqueness for the sake of uniqueness will not give power to the business, but being unique in satisfying the customer need is what gives power.

Wishing.... all the best in building business.

Contributed by : Sasikanth Prabhu