I was listening to a podcast, probably “Under the Influence”, they was talking about Coca Cola and Pepsi. It seems that Pepsi had overheard, discovered or stumbled over Coke’s marketing plan.
But Coke was not worried. It was explained away by these points:
- They can copy the look, pricing and product
- But they can’t copy the corporate culture
- Nor do they have brands, the people or the Coke way of thinking
So the marketing plan would not work because it was developed with only one company with a specific mindset in mind.
I really liked that philosophy, because it is so true of so many businesses. My competitors at the basic level provide the same services that I do. It is how we approach the work and how we deal with our clients that help differentiate ourselves from our competitors.
One small example is that my cell phone number is on my business card. I know a number of CPA’s who would never do that. I believe that there is no such thing as an accounting emergency, but in the client’s mind the issue may be of such importance that they really want to discuss an issue so I make myself available to them. I have gotten those early morning calls as well as those late calls.
I believe our level of service in this situation is better than my peers. But I am by no means the only CPA who does this.
But it is the little things that our competitors cannot beg, borrow or steal from us or replicate, which breaks down to our culture and brands.