for our customers,” says Hogan. “I don’t want to add complexity.” In a more
glamorous arena, Drybar, a chain of 100-plus hair salons, limits complexity
and offers specialization by offering just blow-dry services, in just a few styles.
Forget about cut and color (and don’t even think about getting your nails
done!). With its narrow service offerings, Drybar has carved out a highly
profitable niche by isolating and capitalizing on a single part of the overall
hairstyling process.
- They demonstrate their knowledge. When customers recognize specialists’
expertise, they feel that they’ve put themselves in not just good hands but the
right hands. Thought leadership marketing — white papers, presentations at
industry conferences, and the like — is therefore a powerful tool, serving as a
complementary proof point to execution. Testimonials, references, awards, and
certifications are other forms of tangible evidence of superior knowledge.
Sepire, a company that produces data-driven, secure communications for
healthcare and financial-services companies, for example, has its staff speaking
at industry conferences and touts its certification from the Women’s Business
Enterprise National Council. “We
want people to know not just what
we can do for them but also what
we stand for,” says Sepire CEO and
founder Michelle Steinberg. - They select the right customers
and set appropriate expectations. A
dermatologist can give you a flu shot,
but why would she, and why would
you go to her for one? Specialists don’t squander time, talent, and attention on
customers who don’t need their specialized capabilities. Sepire was founded in part
because the principals were frustrated working for jack-of-all-trades companies
whose broad product lines prevented them from delivering truly expert service in
the technical, regulated niche Sepire wanted to occupy.
“In the age of the Internet and everybody trying to do everything for
everybody, the role of a specialist largely disappeared in our industry. People are
starting to value relationships and partnerships again,” says Sepire’s Steinberg.
When customers
recognize specialists’
expertise, they feel that
they’ve put themselves in
not just good hands but
the right hands.
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