When I look at a firm's website and proposals, I always look to see what the firm considers its differentiators to be. I think of an informal study I did a few years ago, where I took a detailed look at the websites of the first 10 large A/E firms I could think of to see how their websites differed from each other. I found that while colors changed dramatically and layout changed somewhat, all 10 sites had the same navigation buttons and listed the firm's differentiators. And in all 10 cases, most of the listed differentiators also appeared on the lists of at least half of the other firms.
In one case, the website actually had a navigation button labeled "Why we're different," but like the other websites, the list that came up included items that were on at least half of the other firms' lists.
A differentiator IS NOT what makes you different from SOME of your competitors; it's not even what makes you different from MOST of your competitors. It's what makes you different from ALL of your competitors. It can be one specific service, or a specific combination of services. But none of your competitors should be able to make the same claim.
In other words, a differentiator should be what makes you UNIQUE, what makes you UNLIKE any other firm. It's something you can say about your firm that NO OTHER FIRM can say.
One thing that can give you a leg up in attracting new business through your website or winning new work through your proposals and Statements of Qualifications is your ability to identify, articulate, and then capitalize on your firm's true differentiators.
So you need to figure out what your true differentiators are. The following ten questions should help:
- What does my firm do?
- What does my firm do well?
- What does my firm do well enough to be recognized for by past, current, and potential clients?
- What does my firm do well enough to be recognized for by our major competitors?
- What do our clients think we do better than other professional services firms they have used?
- What do our usual subconsultants think we do better than other prime firms with whom they work?
- Based on our reputation, what services would our clients pay a premium price to access?
- What do the public agencies who have to approve our work think we do better than other professional services firms?
- What do we do so well that our staff are considered to be thought leaders?
- What subjects does a local newspaper, magazine, or business publication call us for when they need a quote or a non-technical explanation of a technical concept?
It doesn't matter how many true differentiators you can identify. If you have 10, that's great. If you only have three, that's great, too. As long as you have some attribute or achievement you can claim that no other firm can.
Then, keep the list visible when you start writing or designing your proposal and/or website content. Because making your firm's true differentiators relevant to a prospective client's needs and/or RFP is a sure way to win new clients for your firm and to win new business from past and existing clients.