But regardless of which market you're targeting at any given time, you still need to communicate your competitive advantage(s) in order to make your dojo stand out in a crowd.
"A Competitive What?"
A competitive advantage consists of whatever attributes, skills, or resources your business has that will allow you to outperform your competitors.
Some examples:
- Are you the only dojo in the area that offers Brazilian jiu-jitsu? Competitive advantage.
- The only BJJ black belt in your area? Again, that could be your competitive advantage.
- The only school with a children's program taught by someone with a degree in early childhood development? Another example of a competitive advantage.
- The only school in the area offering multiple programs and courses in a variety of martial arts styles and systems, all for one price? Competitive advantage, for sure.
- The only dojo in the area with after-school pick-up, an after-school karate camp, and summer camps? That's most certainly a competitive advantage, but only with parents who need those services.
Are you starting to get the picture? The idea here is to compete by communicating a competitive advantage that none of your competitors can duplicate, or that they're simply not willing to duplicate because the cost or effort is too high.
How To Screw This Up
But you have to be careful, because you can brick this by choosing a competitive advantage that's easily duplicated. For an example, take Quizno's subs. They started off going gangbusters in the 90's, breaking into markets that had previously been dominated by Subway.
And what was the competitive advantage that their whole USP and marketing campaign hinged upon? Was it higher quality ingredients? Was it nicer stores? Was it better service?
Nope. It was toasted subs. Seriously.
Well, guess what Subway did? Yep, they simply put toaster ovens in every one of their stores, and they wiped the floor with Quizno's. And recently, Quizno's filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had to restructure their business.
So, make sure when you choose the competitive advantage that your USP relies upon, that it's something that can't be easily duplicated.
Defining Your USP
Your "USP" is your unique selling position (sometimes also called your unique selling proposition). It's basically how you state your competitive advantage to your target audience.
How powerful is a good USP? Here are some examples - let's see if you recognize any of these products and companies by their USP alone:
- "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight."
- "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand."
- "A diamond is forever."
See what I mean? A good USP is short, catchy, and it states an easily relatable benefit. Simple, right?
But here's the thing...
The companies above are large international brands with HUGE marketing budgets. So, they've invested millions upon millions of dollars in brand advertising in order to ensure that their USPs stick. You don't have that luxury.
So, your USP has to also provide a unique guarantee if you want your business to stand out in your local market.
Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about offering guarantees, building trust, and how that relates to growing your tribe. Stay tuned.
Until next time,
Mike Massie
MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com
Quick-start Guide to My Books and Resources:
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Click here...P.S. - And in case you missed any of them, those USPs belong to FedEx, M&Ms, and DeBeers.
