Defining points of differentiation

- Your business plan needs to…clearly spell out the points of differentiation…for your product or service…compared to your competitors.…And those points of differentiation…need to be things that your customer cares about.…Now the differences need to be substantial…relative to competition.…By saying you're one to two percent faster…than your competitors, that won't…get a customer's attention.…20% faster, now you have their attention.…Second, they don't just have to be…substantive differences, they have to be meaningful.…

If your customer cares about cost…but not at all about speed,…it doesn't matter if you're 20% faster.…So make sure as you're articulating…these points of differentiation,…you look at substantive differences…as well as meaningful ones.…Now knowing how you're differentiated…is going to help you know…where to invest your time and money…because this is a planning exercise…and you're going to focus on…those differentiating factors and where to compete…or not compete in the marketplace.…

This is the part of your business plan…