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Lack of Differentiation

There are hundreds or thousands of people out there claiming to do the same thing you do, so just why should someone who doesn't know you choose to buy from you, instead of from one of those other people?

That, in a nutshell, is market differentiation. Also referred to as your "unique selling proposition", or the thing that makes you different from all the rest.

You cannot market effectively without making yourself unique. It used to be that you could create a new product or niche fairly easily, but in this worldwide market, there is a near certainty that someone else out there is doing just what you say you are doing. And chances are, a great MANY somebody's are doing so! If you don't set yourself apart from them in some way, you might as well roll the dice on the potential success of your business. Gaining loyal clientele, and building momentum in your business will be nearly impossible.

I don't know how many people have decided to work from home. They buy a business package, just like thousands of other business packages, or worse, they decide to build a "work at home directory" for other people who are working at home to advertise in (NOT a good idea in this over saturated market!). They do nothing different than the thousands of others who are doing the same thing. They don't understand why it is so hard to get people interested! And it is a nearly impossible task when you are just one of the numbers!

Find a way to differentiate yourself. You cannot build a work at home site that is just like the thousands of other shabby work at home sites out there and expect people to flock to your door to pay you to advertise their stuff, when your site gives them no compelling reason to do so. You cannot sell Melaleuca, or GDI, or Global Vacations, or anything else unless you can do it differently. It all comes down to how YOU choose to sell it, that is different than how others try to sell it. It is not enough to have the best product out there, you have to give them a reason to buy it from YOU instead of from ME.

Lack of Differentiation can mean you are stuck forever in the business blahs. It is a marketing issue that permeates your entire business, because it is an extension of the way you do business. Unless you can do business differently, and convey that in an effective manner, you'll not get off the ground.