The question that every customer or client asks themselves is: Why should I hire this particular consultant? That's why you need to ask yourself this question too. In order to convince your clients, you have to be unique. You have to offer something that no one else can. In this article by Oliver Foitzik, you can find out how to position yourself in the market and how to create a unique selling point (USP).

Convince through range of services

I have already explained how important the personality and emotional appeal of your customers is in the article How to build a personal brand through storytelling shown. Now it's time to fill the story you tell your customers and clients with concrete services. Likeability and trust are decisive aspects for choosing a consultant - but in the next step at the latest, you also need to convince them with your range of services. You will be all the more successful if your portfolio is unique and you can offer your clients a real USP.

Out of competition

The consulting market is highly competitive. In order to avoid having to win clients through price (which is not a very promising model), you need to position yourself in the market with your range of services in such a way that it is "out of competition". How can you do this?

• You are actually the only one offering a specific service.
• You offer a specialized service within your industry, or even within your niche, that no one else has.
• You position yourself regionally with a specific method, service or product for a clearly defined customer group.
• You solve a problem for your customers for which there has not yet been a real, satisfactory solution.

Position yourself through uniqueness

What else do you need to consider when positioning yourself in the market?

• Communicate your solutions simply and efficiently.
• Create trust in your expertise (more on this at How to build a personal brand through storytelling)
• Don't be afraid to focus: Narrow down your range of services and tailor them clearly to a specific target group. Only then can you credibly communicate your expertise and define service offerings that will inspire your customers.

In order to optimize your offering and develop the best solutions for your clients, it is crucial that you remain in dialogue. Keep asking your clients which services they like and where they see room for improvement. To do this, either conduct surveys or meet with your customers individually - it is best to combine both approaches to achieve the best possible results.

Know your competitors

In order to be able to offer a unique service, you also need to know what the competition is offering. Analyze your competitors in terms of target group, regional orientation and offer. What are your competitors' strengths and where are their weaknesses? Because the deficits of your competitors can become your advantage if you manage to compensate for them with your offer.

Define USP - convince customers

Once you have found your niche, industry, region and/or customer base where you can position yourself specifically, it is now time to develop your USP. The USP is your convincing argument. Because it shows your customers why they should buy from you - and not from the competition. You don't have to invent a completely new product or service to create a USP. USPs are also, for example

• a particularly efficient and simple methodology or approach to your customers' challenges,
• References from renowned customer companies,
• Press publications, media presence or authorship of specialist books that strengthen your reputation as an expert,
• Prizes and awards,
• emotional appeal to customers,
• new ways of marketing by using channels and platforms on which your competitors are excluded.

As with positioning, the same applies to the USP: it must be clear at first glance. No company, no customer is looking for arguments as to why they should hire this particular consulting firm or this particular consultant. Customers want to be convinced - immediately. Therefore, always present your "compelling sales argument" prominently. For example, on the homepage of your website, at the front of your advertising materials and on your business card. Customers must immediately recognize what they are getting when they choose you.

Best practice examples

TCI and the Enterprise Transformation Cycle

Our network of consultants TCI positions itself against the competition with a unique method that is used as a model for business transformation. TCI developed this approach in order to profitably combine change management and organizational development approaches, exploit their advantages and compensate for their disadvantages.

Thanks to the high flexibility of the approach, it can be applied to a wide variety of transformation projects, as practice has shown in recent years. Hundreds of companies of all sizes have successfully applied the ETC. Its advantages are therefore its high practical suitability, its great flexibility and its efficient and simple applicability with the Envision - Engage - Transform - Optimize phases. These phases can be run through again and again if change projects must or should be managed in iterations.

TCI has thus created a USP with the ETC, which our network of consultants also presents in a recently published anthology with numerous practical examples: In October The Enterprise Transformation Cycle. Theory, application, practice published by Springer Verlag. With this well-founded anthology, TCI further strengthens its expert status in the field of transformation management and sets itself apart from the competition.

Krebs Consulting - Consulting for the tool industry

The consulting firm Krebs Consulting has chosen a different approach to market positioning. Its USP: a focus on the tool industry. Founder and Managing Director Matthias Krebs himself worked for many years in management positions in the tool industry before deciding to set up his own consulting company last year. The clear focus on a niche, combined with the authentic presence of his person in the media and public quickly helped the company to build up a satisfied customer base, full order books and numerous inquiries.

Uniqueness counts

These two examples show how market positioning and the definition of a USP can work. Both approaches are different - and yet both are successful. While we at TCI are unmistakable thanks to our unique method, Krebs Consulting is unique by focusing on a specific niche. Either way, you don't have to reinvent the wheel to be unique and stand out from the competition. The important thing is to be different from the competition, to address real customer challenges, to offer them added value and to communicate these competencies clearly. And: stay true to yourself! Because what inspires you will also inspire your customers.

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