Getting your business to stand out can be an intimidating challenge. Especially when you’re operating in a crowded marketplace. Copywriters tackle this challenge every day, using specific techniques to shine a spotlight on their clients. 

Because every business can differentiate itself (with a little imagination).

Create a unique brand personality

The first part of the process is considering your uniqueness.

Uniqueness is defined as 'the quality of being the only one of its kind' or 'the quality of being particularly remarkable, special, or unusual'.

The harsh truth is that not many of us have a business that is truly unique.

Rather than thinking that your business has to 100 per cent different to anything else in your market, consider shining a spotlight on specific parts of your business.

Branding goes way beyond a logo. Good branding starts with the personality of a business and the promises being made to customers. Your branding encapsulates the following:

• How your brand looks: the colours, patterns and styles your use in your marketing.
• The stories you tell: Not just your customer stories but the origin story of your business and the stories of your team.
• How your brand sounds: the tone of voice you use in your copywriting.

All these things give your business a specific vibe that certain customers will be attracted to. Don’t be afraid to be different, it might just be the vibe your ideal customers are looking for.

Focus on the details

If the product or service you’re marketing isn’t unique, it’s time to dig into the details. Go through your product and the way you deliver it with a fine-tooth comb. 

Is there an extra step no one else does? 

Or is there a feature everyone has but no one talks about?

Make the mundane interesting by explaining WHY or HOW

Give the features of your products or service a bit more pizzazz by offering more explanation. 

Why does this feature exist? How did it come about? Let customers understand your method and process. It’s shows off your expertise.

More details within a story also make your product and business more credible. 

Focus on a BIG benefit 

The next way you can help your business stand apart from your competitors is to focus on a big benefit while they focus on features.

A feature is a fact about a product or service and it’s important but a benefit is how that fact impacts someone in a meaningful way. 

While it’s easy to talk about features, it’s the benefit that potential customers will get excited about. The more meaningful the impact, the more compelling it is to customers.

And if you’re the only one thinking big, you’ll be more memorable and appealing.

Stand back from the limelight

Many businesses focus their marketing on what they do, which makes sense. But it’s just as important to step out of the limelight and focus on your customers. 

To do that, you need to make them the hero of the story you’re telling.

Checklist for customer-centric copywriting:

1. speak to their challenges and problems
2. explain the impact of what you do (the benefits rather than the features)
3. use the same language as your audience
4. speak directly to your audience
5. share stories and experiences from other customers.

When someone reading your copy feels like you understand what they’re going through and you’re speaking directly to them, the connection is much stronger.

When you write your copy, imagine speaking to someone in front you. Make it conversation and try to use the word 'you' twice as much as the words 'me', 'I', 'we' and 'us'.

Prove you’re trusty worthy

Remember, customers don’t want to spend all their time researching and choosing a service provider. They want to get on with the job and get it done!

So, they look for shortcuts. They look for reasons to say no, so they have a shorter list of choices. If you want to stay on the shortlist, your marketing needs to display proof that you are trusty worthy. 

Proof such as:

• guarantees
• social proof, such as testimonials and case studies
• industry bodies you belong to
• awards you’ve won
• media features
• transparency and specificity that empowers customers with knowledge
• be really specific with your statements.

When you use these in your marketing as well as speaking to the problems you’re solving, your potential customers get clear signals that you are the one for them.

The big shift

The biggest shift to make, when figuring out how to shine in your industry, is realising that you don’t need to shine to everyone. You need to shine to your ideal customers. All your marketing needs to speak to those people so understanding those people is your first step.  

Then you can more easily connect the dots from what you do to what they need.