Why You?

Originally sent out: 10/07/25

T.E.A Break – 043

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Why would someone buy from you and not your competitor?

What makes you special?

What’s unique about you?

I love asking these questions, and it never ceases to amaze me how many businesses, both small and large, struggle to answer them concisely.

This week, I’ve had several prospect calls, including both local brick-and-mortar businesses and ecommerce businesses.

I’ve asked them all the same question: Why you?

Why would your customer chose you over your competitor?

I frequently advise businesses that in order to stand out in a crowded market, you only need to be famous to a few.

Most businesses try to appeal to everyone and in reality are remembered by no one.

I’ll give you a couple of examples;

If you’re a kitchen showroom business whose customers mostly come from within a set geographic radius, then double down on that to help answer the why you question.

You’ll want to be famous to a few in your primary target area and by leading with that on your website, your marketing, your creative, and your content you will stand out for not just what you provide (kitchens) but where you provide them (specific location).

In this scenario, you immediately differentiate yourself from the countless other kitchen showrooms by effectively saying:

“We’re not trying to appeal to everyone, we sell great kitchens to the people of X or Y locations”.

Lovely!

Do you see, how that little tweak immediately makes you stand out?

The reality for most local brick-and-mortar businesses though, they spread themselves too thin by wanting to reach the next town, and the next county, and by casting an ever-wide net, they come up against increased competition and ultimately get lost in the noise.

I’ll give you an ecommerce example now;

With ecommerce business, it’s slightly different, as location is less of a factor, instead with ecommerce it’s all about who, what or why.

Who is buying your product? What are they buying, and why are they buying it?

Let’s say you’re an ecommerce brand that sells furniture.

If you just lead with the product, you’re almost certainly going to have huge competition.

We challenge prospects and clients alike by asking why you?

Who is buying the product? What is unique about the product(s) you sell?

Why would a customer buy from you and not your competitor?

Most ecommerce businesses can find real success when they focus on a niche within a niche.

With this example, I’d be looking for an angle to help this brand stand out and be famous to a few.

Is there a specific type of product we are known/want to be known for?

Is there a specific style of product we are known/want to be known for?

Is there a specific use case for the product we are known/want to be known for?

Is there a specific customer profile who buys the product?

Is there a specific reason/pain point the customer buys the product?

These are just a few possibilities. The point is for ecommerce businesses to stand out, you’ve got to couple the product with something else.

This makes you more memorable. It makes you stand out.

It taps into the phycology of people, as we need context, we resonate with stories and often crave details.

This week, I was explaining the above to a prospect who gave us a call and I used his reason for calling us, as a perfect example to illustrate my point.

“Look, there are 1,000s of marketing agencies out there that do what we do, and you’ve called us because you know we’re not just great at what we do, but because you know we only do it for home and garden brands like you. We’re famous to a few.”

He smiled and simply said “You’re absolutely right, that is why I called you.”

The best advice I can give you is to stop trying to appeal to everyone, and instead take the time to truly think about: Why you?

Once you can articulate that in a few seconds, sales and marketing get infinitely easier.

Believe me, I know from experience.

For more than a decade I was guilty of doing the above. My product was marketing, but I wasn’t geographically tied, nor was I clear on who we did it for.

I couldn’t answer the why you question particularly well.

Now, we’re famous to a few.

We’re very clear on what we do (growth marketing) and who we do it for (home and garden brands).

That clarity has made a world of difference to my business and I believe it can for yours as well.

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