Even if you have a unique product or service, before long, it’s inevitable that your company will be joined by others. With the advent of social media, it seems that it’s getting harder and harder to stand out from the crowd.
Marketers have tried to address this by carving out niches and splashy campaigns. Or by creating a Purple Cow.
Another approach with multiple advantages is to incorporate impact in your strategy and marketing. I define impact as the point where your and your company’s uniqueness meet the world and make it a better place for all of us.
Here are 10 ways that impact can give your company an even better competitive edge:
- In today’s marketplace, people at a variety of ages are focused on what a company is doing in the larger world. Is it contributing? Is it helping to make the world a better place? People over 40 years of age are showing an increasing interest in legacy, what they want to show for their time here. Millennials want to make a difference with their purchases and their work. Your focus on impact will draw those customers and tilt their buying decisions in your favor.
- In a crowded market and in those with established and well-regarded players, it’s difficult to enter by merit alone or even by leveraging connections. Impact can give you that distinctive edge to set up the initial meeting, and be considered along with the long-time residents in that market.
- Your focus on impact in strategy and marketing helps your company thrive. Companies that focus on impact have 12-14 times more income than those that are profit-only focused. A thriving company has more flexibility in your marketing spend and in your hires, which can contribute to a greater presence in the market.
- You avoid being regarded as a commodity company. If you are forced to compete in a commodity market, your profit margins narrow and managing your business finances becomes a great deal more challenging. Impact provides you with a unique value proposition.
- Impact-focused companies have been shown to be more sustainable. With that sustainability, your longevity in the marketplace can give you a competitive edge, as long as you continue to serve the needs of your customers.
- Value for all stakeholders increases with a focus on impact. That heightened value is perceived by your customers as a thriving business that won’t let them down.
- Similarly, market valuation goes up with a focus on impact, as your business thrives.
- If you choose to focus on impact, your company makes a positive difference with your employees, your community, and even the larger world. Let people know about it, and you enhance the perceived value of your company, as well as increasing visibility.
- When you nurture a company culture that helps people flourish, to have their own impact, you create an engaged workforce and a group of inspired and committed marketers. Word of mouth marketing by your employees is an invaluable asset that you can encourage with a consistent focus on your intended impact.
- With a focus on a higher purpose, on your impact, everyone in the company moves through challenges more quickly and easily. The shared big picture helps everyone to stop dwelling on the problem and move on.
With an impact focus in your marketing and customer conversations, you can be different and noticeable. It gives you a competitive advantage with customers in their buying decisions.
Bonus: you can do good in the world with your business.
To leverage impact for your competitive advantage, click here for the Alchemy Assignment!
Full disclosure: if you use the Amazon link in this article to buy, I’ll receive a small payment from Amazon.
I really enjoyed this article. It seems like the kind of businesses you are focusing on here are businesses that sell things. And perhaps there is no difference. My business already is a business that makes a difference just by its nature. I use different approaches to help mostly women in the area of personal healing. One sacred circle I am developing is learning how to give empathy based a lot on Marshall Rosenbergs work called non-violent communication. The next step and a most powerful step is to focus on giving ourselves empathy, or Self Empathy. I personally have found it to be transformational. So I have a deep desire to spread it around. I am passionate about helping to relieve suffering in the world.
Number 9 speaks to this. And I am a one woman business. Any comments or questions would be welcome.
Ruby, it sounds like you’ve discovered a really valuable service that you feel passionate about. Services are among the things you can sell, and when you make a profit at it, you’ll have a business! To help you on your way, I recommend you start with the Work Alchemy Feed the Fire toolkit – just enter your name and email at the top of any page on the website to get it free, along with weekly advice from me. You can also start listening to the Work Alchemy podcast: you’ll find it on iTunes. Plus, you can always read previous blog posts – just look through them or search for a particular topic of interest. Finally, the Resources page has a number of additional free resources for you. That will be lots to get you started!