I once sat down with a client to take notes for a corporate brochure we were producing for his mid-sized construction company. I launched into the "Marketing 101" drill, asking questions about the services his company provided, target audiences, and unique selling points. Just then he looked at me and said, rather sharply, "We're no different than any other construction company." This was the president and founder of the company.

I urged him to think of at least one thing about his company that was different than his competitors - maybe it was one of the services the company offered, or the experience of his people. He just simply said, "No," and asked me to move on.

I argued, but to no avail. We developed a nice brochure, full of beautiful photos of completed projects. I'm sure it was useful to him. But I was always bothered by the fact that he couldn't think of anything about his company that made it different from the competition. His business didn't last long. Once a recession came along-when businesses can become easily commoditized-he was reduced to competing on price alone, which can run a general contractor into the ground pretty quickly.

I think about his company every time I work with a client to develop a marketing plan or a strategy for a promotional campaign. I urge our clients to think long and hard about what makes them so special - what makes them stand out in a crowded marketplace.

This is especially essential in today's economy when it seems every business purchase has to be justified and when price pressure is so widespread. You have to work hard to identify your competitive advantages, unique selling propositions, or whatever you want to call them, and then communicate them in terms of the benefits your target audience will derive from them no matter what medium you are using.

It's basic stuff, but it's amazing how many companies don't go through this exercise and then measure all their promotional efforts with the answer to the question, "What makes us so special?"

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