You're NOT Uber. Good.
Uber, Airbnb, Apple.
These are the companies that seem to be everyone’s go-to inspiration for strategy.
Great companies, absolutely. Revolutionary, even.
But here’s the thing: you aren’t Apple, and you can’t be like Uber.
No, this isn’t an insult.
This is because these companies created entirely new categories.
On the other hand, your family saw a need.
Maybe it was propane delivery, maybe it was roofing, and you made it happen for your community.
This means you lead a family-run business that likely has a clear SIC code and a known category.
Most people already know, generally, what you do.
That’s not a bad thing.
Unless that’s where your marketing stops.
If your marketing stops at “This is what we do,” you’ve just entered a price race to the bottom.
Customers will be looking at the dollar signs and nothing else.
At that point, it’s just a race between you and your competitors on who’s a penny cheaper.
Without something extra, you can’t charge what you’re worth.
To charge what you’re worth, you need to adopt a 3-part strategy.
State What You Do. Clearly.
When someone lands on your site or hears about you, they need to instantly place your firm in their mental database. “Ah, I get what you do. Yes, one day I may need that.”
This isn’t about being groundbreaking; it’s about being immediately understandable.
State Who You Do It For.
Maybe you specialize in working with manufacturing firms (a vertical niche), or perhaps you focus on businesses with 100+ employees (a horizontal niche).
Even a specific geography like Southeastern Pennsylvania can be a powerful differentiator.
This helps people know whether your not your business is a fit for them.
State Your Secondary Difference Makers.
This is where you escape the price war—it’s the “something extra” you offer.
It’s not enough to just state your service; you need to highlight what makes you unique. This “difference-maker” helps you charge the fees you deserve.
This isn’t about inventing a new app; it’s about revealing your existing strengths as a family-run company.
- A Pledge or Promise: Like a propane company that pledges, “We will never leave you out in the cold,” because you genuinely have extra resources to deliver in the worst weather.
- Unique Delivery: Are you “the cowboy electrician” who makes it fun? Do you have a distinctly different way you provide your services?
- Methodology/Intellectual Property: Do you have a unique way of installing a roof? When your process is something people haven’t seen before, claim that differentiator.
- Deep Experience: Maybe you’ve spent your entire career in finance and financial planning, and now you can leverage that expertise to help solve niche issues out of depth for most.
You probably have differentiators already; they just need to be uncovered, refined, and articulated powerfully.
Stop looking at case studies about Uber and Airbnb. Start looking at businesses like yours that have truly differentiated themselves within their known categories.
Articulate what makes your family business truly stand out using a Messaging Framework as the foundation for your marketing.
A Messaging Framework helps you pinpoint your unique differentiators and turn them into compelling messages that connect with your ideal customers.
Stop racing to the bottom and start charging what you're worth.
