Distinct or Mediocre: Your Choice

Are you looking to bill higher fees and have fewer competitors? It really comes down to two different ways to compete in this ever-changing world we live in. We can compete on price or we can differentiate ourselves, become true experts, and create a clear division between ourselves and our competitors. Walmart has chosen its path. They focus consistently on price. Is that where you and your firm want to be? What makes you or your firm remarkable? What can you or your firm consistently deliver?

As professionals, we can say it is about the relationships that we have with our customers. Relationships certainly are a major factor. But relationships will only get you so far.

If you can’t specifically state what is remarkable about what you can deliver, you are likely moving toward mediocrity and competing on price. If you are good at many things and a master of none you are likely competing on price. Being the Walmart of accounting/consulting firms is ok but as Tim Williams’s book Positioning for Profit points out, it is far more profitable to focus. It is far better to be a big fish in a small pond than to be a small fish in a big pond. In the latter you tend to get eaten.