How to Differentiate your Tech Consulting Firm
What is Differentiation?
Marketing differentiation is the process of distinguishing a product or service from others to make it more attractive to a particular target market.
How does your tech consulting firm differentiate itself?
In a market filled with other firms claiming to do the same things they do, swear to deliver the same benefit, and claim the same technology partners, differentiation may seem like a complicated task.
The answer to the question influences your strategy, marketing effectiveness, and ability to rise about the competition and succeed. That’s why it’s crucial to consider differentiation as a defined area of your marketing strategy.
Differentiation can be difficult for some firms to tackle. They grapple with the uncertainty of market size, eliminating focus areas, and building clear evidence of their differentiation. But the benefits of differentiation outweigh the effort to identify what makes you different and the effort to live up to the claim.
Why differentiate?
When your firm choices to separate itself from the crowd and establish a strong differentiation, it leads to authority building. Firms that are seen as an authority achieve the following benefits;
- Marketing effectiveness increases – inbound interest and leads increase
Perceived value heightens – customers believe they are getting more for their investment because they are working with an authority - Price pressure decreases – if your firm is the known authority in a space, you are less likely to feel price pressure because there are fewer alternatives
- Margins increase – without price pressure and the positive impact of increased perceived value, your firm can achieve more significant margins.
Ways to build differentiation
There are numerous ways to differentiate your tech consulting firm. Valens Point has put together a baker’s dozen list of opportunities that illustrate common methods consulting firms use to differentiate.
1. Differentiation based on one or more industry thought leaders.
2. Differentiation based on staff education, experience, or credentials.
3. Differentiation based on size.
4. Differentiation based on offering a particular service.
5. Differentiation based on an exclusive or unique technology or process.
6. Differentiation based on a geographic focus.
7. Differentiation based on the relationship of a technology partner.
8. Differentiation based on one vertical or industry.
9. Differentiation based on serving a specific role within your client’s organization.
10. Differentiation based on your client portfolio.
11. Differentiation based on solving a significant business challenge.
12. Differentiation based on a substantial accomplishment.
13. Differentiation based on delivering an impactful or highly valuable result.
The worksheet available here explains each difference in more detail and helps you identify your firms’ difference by answering two questions: Is this you? and Could it be you? It’s a thinking exercise that helps you discover and determine the opportunities to separate your firm.
Don’t worry if you read through the list and don’t have a resounding “YES! That’s our firm” moment. Your differentiation may lie in the combination of two or more of the opportunities.
Download the Differentiation Worksheet now.
Do you want to discuss your opportunities to differentiate and what impact that could have on your consulting firm? Schedule a no-cost, no-commitment differentiation review by clicking here. You’ll get expert tech consulting firm marketing advice on how differentiation and authority building can raise your firm to the next level.
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About Valens Point
We help technology services organizations grow by putting into action a marketing system containing the right balance of strategy, technology, process, and expertise that will get results.
