Educate to Differentiate Your Customer Experience
A reader recently emailed me and asked about how to differentiate a B2B life science company when the product isn’t sexy and they are a “me too” company.It's a great question.First of all, very few products are significantly differentiated themselves. Even when there are differences that matter, they don’t matter to everyone.I’m a big fan of differentiating your company by the customer experience through the whole marketing cycle. It's a chance to stand out to a larger group of people to generate more sales.Just for fun, I poked around that company's website, where I found a very helpful User Guide that explained the differences between several similar products, the ideal applications for each, how to troubleshoot and more. That's extremely valuable content for a customer faced with a dizzying array of choices among nearly identical products.My only suggestion was that the user guide should be more visible by moving it up a few levels. As it was, only people who had already begun digging into the category would find it. How many visitors left before discovering the one thing that would help them the most?Producing and promoting educational content is a way to differentiate your business regardless of whether you are cutting edge or "me-too". Any chance you get to educate a customer on how to solve a problem is a chance to be seen as the go-to resource.Once a customer realizes he has a problem in the lab, the next problem is researching what the options are. Be the company that solves the researching problem for him and you’re on your way to selling him the solution to his lab problem.Maybe you sell a range of similar products. Whether they are buffers or HPLCs, creating a guide to help customers make the right choice sets you apart.Don’t assume that all of your prospects understand whether or not you can help them. Most websites I see are written as if customers know what they need. Many potential customers don’t know they could and should be using your product. Why not educate them?Teach prospects:
- What applications your technology is good for
- What other technologies are used for the same application and how they are different
- How to decide between similar products
- How to get the best results
Prospects won't buy until they are confident that not only does your solution do what you say, but also that they understand it enough to make it work for themselves.When you create and effectively promote the go-to resource, you'll get:
- More traffic
- More brand exposure
- More trust
- And more loyal customers
Even the people who don't buy from you will still use you as a resource. Don't write them off. The next time they are ready to buy, you may get a second chance.