Marketing is often misunderstood, and because of that it can be poorly executed and even feel intimidating. Typically, a business owner thinks they can “hire a marketing company” then wipe their hands clean, only to find themselves dissatisfied or disappointed with the results. Or, a business owner may decide to do all of their marketing themselves, but ends up running a disjointed strategy that doesn’t clarify their company’s market differentiation.
While marketing can be complex, at its core, the purpose of marketing is to grow awareness of the products and services you offer.
In this blog, we’ll dive into elimination marketing:
- The importance of market differentiation
- The pitfalls of selling “you” as a brand
- How elimination marketing can improve your marketing strategy
Overcoming market competition
Many solid marketing tactics will ultimately fail without a clear brand positioning strategy and execution — and that’s really where elimination marketing comes into play.
For example, a client of ours niched her business to serve only “facelift enhancement” patients. This includes women who previously had a facelift and needed a surgical retouch, or those who had a facelift and were looking for ongoing TLC to optimize their investment.
Now, think of your business. What are you known for? Natural results? Trust, honestly, integrity, authenticity? So was she — and that was the linchpin that prevented her from owning her place in the rapidly expanding aesthetic market. While she was incredibly talented as a surgeon and loved by her team and patients, her market differentiation was lukewarm.
A lack of market differentiation can prevent growth by making it difficult to stand out from competitors, leading to decreased customer interest and engagement. Without a unique value proposition or distinguishing factors, your business may struggle to attract and retain the customers you want.
Why scaling requires a shift in your market differentiation strategy
Many marketers say, “You are your brand — sell yourself.” The problem is, when you are already fully booked and looking to scale, selling you will no longer benefit you or your business’ differentiation strategies. Let me explain.
My husband, Chad, travels a lot for work and has his own driver, named Wafa. He sends her a text and she rolls up — on time, in a comfortable SUV with air conditioning. It’s clean, she packs water, and she knows the best route to get to the airport.
Wafa went on a month-long vacation and sent another driver — but it wasn’t the same experience Wafa created. So instead of riding with other drivers in her car fleet, Chad insists on Wafa only.
Perhaps this sounds familiar. You designed a very special experience for your clients, and they love it so much that they want you and only you. Maybe you have other providers on your team and they are great, but they just don’t have the same sizzle that you bring.
This is one of the most common barriers to scaling effectively. When you’re in this position, it’s extremely challenging to separate yourself from daily service delivery in your business and step into your role as CEO.
Cater to your highest value customer
Instead of treating every client as your VIP client, do the research to audit your business and deeply understand the client that is driving revenue for you. We call this our Most Valuable Buyer exercise, one of the cornerstone tools we offer at Pop Leadership Academy. We know by the 80/20 rule that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients, so what do your VIPs have in common?
When our plastic surgeon client did this exercise with us, she was blown away by her own results. She was so certain that her primary income stream came from her breast augmentation clients because she was doing a much higher volume of these procedures by number.
But when she lifted the hood and examined the engine of her business, she began to recognize similarities among her clients who invested the most financially with her, were the biggest pleasure to work with, most energizing to her team, and referred high-ticket, quick decision clients who were willing and able to spend money on her services.
This tool revealed a whole segment of clients that would bring in more than double the income of the other 80%. We used this data to design differentiation strategies focused on attracting and retaining these specific clients, a process I have coined “elimination marketing.”
The power of elimination marketing
Differentiation and positioning in aesthetics is crucial for aesthetic businesses to stand out in a crowded industry and attract clients who value their unique approach, expertise, and specialized services. If you scroll through our website, you’ll notice a specific list of who we work with and a list of who we do not work with. I’ll share a few key characteristics here.
Our programming is not for you, if:
- You are someone who is not open to change
- You are afraid to put yourself “out there”
- You truly want to be a one-woman show forever
- You are worried about what other people will say
- You are transaction-minded
- You are simply looking for done-for-you or cookie cutter solutions
A team member once said to me that she felt this was kind of intimidating, like an applicant would be eliminated if they don’t perfectly fit the mold — and she is correct.
We are a no-fail company — our clients succeed, no matter what. But in order for us to be able to make that bold and brazen promise, we must be the best in the world at the specific work we do, not a Jack-of-all-trades company.
You need to intimately know your customer, offer a specific solution to their problem, and replicate that solution again and again. Discerning buyers seek specificity.
Stand apart with a streamlined process
Imagine a business who treats women and men, ages 20 to 80. They offer a wide spectrum of aesthetic and wellness services from facials, to Botox, laser hair removal, to threads, to IVs. Appointment lengths and treatment plans vary dramatically, skin concerns and goals vary dramatically, and the team the business employs must be cross-trained on a variety of services, products, and pre- and post-care protocols.
The aesthetic business across the street treats women and men, ages 30 to 55, and they specialize in only rhinoplasty. Their intake process is standardized, their team are experts on every step of the rhinoplasty procedure, treatment plan, possible complications, and post-care protocols. Appointment times are consistent and formulaic.
Do you see the distinction? More is not always better in terms of the clients you bring in.
Choosing your ideal fit through elimination marketing
What if every client who walked through your door was a dream to work with, loved their results, respected your boundaries, paid top dollar for services and referred other dream clients?
This can be a reality for you — but having awesome clients means eliminating average ones through strong differentiation and positioning. Building a business you love is about attracting a discerning buyer, and this requires differentiation strategies — when consumers know exactly what they are going to receive, that creates a tremendous amount of familiarity which increases their confidence in you.
The magic of elimination marketing works for clients, team, partners, contractors, and vendors. Learn more with our podcast, The Fierce Factor. Every week, we share impactful findings and gold nuggets on market differentiation and more that will help you stand apart from the competition. Tune in today.
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