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Get R.E.A.L.!

Posted on October 23, 2015

HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE YOUR COMPANY FROM YOUR COMPETITION

By Bob King

I think we would all agree that the best pathway to grow your business while maintaining sustainable margins is to differentiate your company’s staff, products and service levels from those of your competitors. So, where do you start? Begin your assessment by getting R.E.A.L.!

1. Reputationfor Reliability: Reputation is how your customers think aboutyou! Do your customers associate your people, products, and services with being more reliable than the competition? Ask them.
2. Expertise: Do your customers value your people as being knowledgeable, experienced and dependable “trusted advisors”?
3. Affordability:You don’t want to be the “Cheapest”, but are you the “Best value proposition”? Coach your people on how to competently verbalize this to your customers in a brief and understandable manner.
4. Longevity: Your “staying power” comes down to consistent customer satisfaction. Customer service starts at the top of the company as an expressed value instilled in every employee at every level, no matter how big that company gets. The challenge is to be so close to customers, so genuinely interested in knowing them and understanding their businesses, that we can take them not only where they want to go now, but to where they will want to be in one, two or five years.

 

-Bob King, VP of Business Development & Succession Planning, SnapDragon Associates 

Bob joined SnapDragon with over 40 years in the building materials industry and is considered a pioneer in the business having a proven track record of implementing new products through superior supply chain management. In addition to his stellar career, Bob has also served for five years on the NAWLA board of directors and is a true innovator in the LBM Industry.