If customers can't tell you apart from your competitors, where's your advantage?
On the July 31 episode of my Lykken on Lending podcast, we had the opportunity to discuss marketing and branding with mortgage industry marketing experts Seroka and Associates. In our conversation, the importance of "positioning" to a brand's strategy was brought up as a top priority for leaders in the industry to consider. If customers cannot tell you apart from your competitors, then you have no competitive advantage. What's your niche? Why do people come to you rather than someone else?
As leaders in the mortgage industry, we should certainly be asking these questions when developing our brand strategy and marketing materials. But positioning isn't just a concept involving how we portray our company; it's also a concept involving how we portray ourselves. In other words, how do you position yourself as a leader? What is it about you that makes people on your team want to work in your company versus some other company? What is your competitive advantage as a leader in the mortgage industry?
Have you ever given any though to what sets you apart from the leaders in other organizations? It's something worth considering. I would suggest having your employees fill out an anonymous assessment on your qualities as a leader. Find out from your people why they like working with you, and then develop those characteristics. The more people see how you differentiate yourself from other leaders, the more talented people you will attract to your organization.
