The "SO WHAT?" Principle
“So what “
This might sound like something a 14-year-old would say, but the question ‘so what’ is the most valuable question that you need to ask, especially in business and especially when considering your differentiation.
What makes you stand out from your competitors? It is vital that your customers see a differentiation between you and your rivals, so they can make an informed decision. The more value they see in your offering the more likely they are to make a positive buying decision.
Have you used the “so what?" principle?
Every time you promote your business, whether that be through your elevator pitch, your promotion material, or when responding to tender, as the question “so what?“ What value are you offering, will the customer see a difference between what you are saying and what the everyone else is saying?
Let's consider an example of a simple pitch, “I am fitness trainer and I focus on women”‘, now ask ‘so what?’ answer is, every one trains women, what is so special about you, what makes you different?
Maybe you could say “I am fitness trainer, who specialised in training women, I make them fit, healthy and happy, by doing strength training and building up their self-confidence both in themselves and in their body shape”.
Both statements are factual, however one truly differentiates itself from the other. I can no longer say ‘so what?‘ to the second statement, because in the second statement I have made a difference that has impact, I have differentiated myself from every other business.
You can apply this principle in all areas of marketing for your business. Is your marketing material the same as everyone else’s, does it make you stand out? If you are responding to a tender, or preparing a proposal, when you read through the material before sending to the customer, read it and ask the question “so what?“.. Do the words in the proposal stand out, do they make a difference, will your customer see true differentiation, or is it just more marketing blurb?
When I help companies respond to tenders, I see a lot of cut and paste, a lot of the material from the marketing brochures included in the response template. What value does this offer the customer? If you validated your response with examples and demonstrated case studies your customers can no longer ask “so what“ ; because they can see the value in your response, they understand what difference you make and where you have done this before.
When you describe your business take the test, ask yourself the question ‘so what’. If you can answer that and truly see that you are different than your competitor, then your differentiation is fantastic, if however, you think that sounds the same as everyone else, then start to think about your business in a different way - describe it in a different style.
Here’s a thought, during our election ramp-up, listen to the pollies. Are they asking themselves “so what” before they pitch, are they truly differentiating ….. mmmm. … maybe they should??????
Give it go, test your business pitch this with your bestie :)
