Picks & Pans:
Define Your Differences, Both Green and Otherwise

If you’re a business of any kind you have competition. This is obvious. It’s interesting, though, that when you get different competitors in a room together and give them each a venue to talk about their product, or program. It’s interesting to see how each spins their particular program as the best.

This happened in July when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a public workshop to examine green claims in the building industry. They wanted to discuss what to do when many companies make general claims regarding being green with no basis behind them.

During this workshop, the FTC held a session in which representatives of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council each talked about their programs and how theirs differed from the other [or, let’s be honest, read between the lines, was better than the other].

Then the very next session had a representative of the U.S. Green Building Council, the National Association of Home Builders, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Green Globes, all talk about their different green building programs, and again what sets them apart.

There is nothing wrong with defining your differences—in fact you better be able to do so. For example, if you ask me what sets DWM apart from our competition, I’d have a clear answer ready (I won’t bore you with it now. After all, you’re at our website, so obviously you see the value here).

Anyway, when someone asks you what sets you apart from the competition, do you have a definitive, compelling answer ready?

Why does someone choose your product over another or vice versa? It may seem like an easy question, but often it’s not. Don’t fall into the trap of saying something easy like “competitive price or quality.” When a builder or customer asks you why he or she should choose you over the competition I urge you to be ready with a distinct, clear answer, and then have the facts to back that up. In a competitive industry such as yours this is crucial to your success.

And if you’re a company that offers “green” products you need to clearly define what makes them green. In fact, the whole point of the FTC workshop was to talk about its Guide to Environmental Marketing Claims, which defines exactly what marketers can or cannot say when it comes to being green. The agency is in the process of updating its guides, which may include giving consumers guidance on the various green building programs available, what to look for in a label, etc.

If you haven’t checked out the guides yet, you need to. CLICK HERE to do so.

And for a comprehensive review of the workshop see the upcoming September issue of DWM magazine. CLICK HERE for a condensed version of the workshop.