By Kristin Laffrey, business coach for women leading impact in fertility, birth, postpartum, motherhood, parenting and matrescence.
When you are here to work with doula clients and serve women within their pregnancy, birth and postpartum, it can feel really disheartening when you are showing up online and posting on social media yet it feels like you can't break through and reach the people you know you are here to serve.
The reality in business is that there are people doing similar work and one of the most challenging places you can be in within your business is trying to get your message across but it just feels like it's getting lost.
So when you are putting all the effort in for what feels like such a little return, it can make showing up in your business feel really tough.
And this is why it's so important to connect to, how do you set your business apart from others within your industry?
Why is it important to differentiate yourself?
Creates your unique brand: differentiating yourself is about determining what makes you unique and building a brand around that which will create a reputation for your brand and what you stand for.
Attracts the right clients: when you differentiate yourself it allows you to attract the clients that you want to serve. Remember that you aren't here to serve everyone but you are here to serve YOUR people so it's important to speak directly to that person.
Creates new ways of doing things within your industry: when you focus on what makes you unique you can create new ways of doing things within your industry that others aren't doing which not only creates value within your business but also advances the industry and moves the industry forward to serve in a greater way.
Standing out is not about being the loudest to stand out but rather having the clarity and ability to communicate that which will set you apart within your industry. Because right now you've probably already noticed there are many people sharing similar messages.
If it's so important to differentiate your doula business then why aren't businesses currently differentiating themselves?
Working within this space since 2020, here are the key reasons I see businesses not differentiating themselves:
They lack an understanding of fundamental business principles that can be applied to their business to stand out within their industry
They don't know how to implement changes within their own business to differentiate themselves
They aren't focusing on the business side of their business and therefore not seeing this as essential
They are looking at what others have to offer to make decisions within their business and therefore their business has become a replicate of others within their industry
They don't understand who it is they actually serve and therefore aren't able to differentiate their messaging and framework
As a business coach working with many doulas, here is what I see time and time again as supporting them to stand out within their industry:
1️⃣ A unique framework:
How is it that YOU support clients? What is your unique process or framework that differentiates you from everyone else? Because in the online space where people are seeing offer after offer, they aren’t just looking at what you deliver but HOW you deliver it and this is what becomes your unique selling proposition to differentiate yourself and reach your ideal clients within your target audience.
Creating and speaking to your unique framework is such a key differentiator between yourself and others within your industry because it's what makes the delivery of your support different from anyone else.
So what makes you unique?
2️⃣ Unique messaging:
How are you communicating with your ideal clients to connect, build trust, and get them taking action to become a client?
Many people within business don't connect to what messaging is essential to attract their ideal clients and refining your messaging can have you not just standing out but also converting clients at a higher rate and therefore positioning yourself at the forefront of your industry for growth.
Focus on creating and refining your messaging and I can guarantee this will position your business within your industry to speak directly to who it is you desire to support to call in your dream clients.
So where do you see the greatest opportunity right now?
If you don't have a clear framework for how you support your clients, clarify this firstly and then secondly, focus on communicating with your ideal client so that you are speaking directly to them.
Remember that booking clients takes connecting with your ideal clients, building trust and credibility and creating safety within the client journey to support them from seeing a post on social media to booking into your paid packages. So what shift are you going to make within your business to support this?
Jump over to YouTube to watch the full video where I dive into positioning yourself within your industry and standing out: