Imagine this conversation between a CEO and his marketing director. “Hey Jim, I was just looking at our marketing reports and I see that we are still too visible. We really need to blend in with the competition. If we stand out too much, we’ll have way more business than we can handle.”
Not a very likely scenario. Any big company is going to be interested in standing out from the competition. They want potential customers to see them as unique. Blending in like a soldier wearing camouflage is not the goal. In fact, as a marketing director, you can get fired if you don’t do your job of helping the company stand out from the crowd.
Apple didn’t become successful by trying to be like the competition. In fact the advertising slogan, “think different” was used to help set them apart from the competition.
Celebrities generally don’t try to look like everyone else. Most of the time they try to look different–to stand out from the crowd by being unique. It’s what helps give them that “star” status.
Why?
So why is it that intentionally or accidentally so many smaller businesses don’t seem to stand out from the crowd? It could be that they’re just busy with all the other aspects of their business? They just haven’t taken the time to figure out how to differentiate themselves from the competition?
So why do they want to blend in? Well, I don’t think they really want to. It’s just that they haven’t figured out how to stand out. They also might find it a little scary to try something that would cause them to stand out. After all their making do. The business is doing okay.
Sometimes change can be one of the scariest things we face. However, if we don’t take some “risks”, things won’t get any better. If you want to improve your business, you’re going to need to do something different. If you take the time to determine what makes your business unique, you will be taking a big step forward in your business.
Is your business unique?
If you think it is, do you play it up so the right people know what makes you unique?
Now when it comes to determining how you’re going to be unique, there are two approaches. One approach is to find out what you’re already doing that makes you unique. It’s possible you’re already be doing something that makes you unique but you’re not highlighting it. Your customers or clients don’t know what sets you apart from the competition because you’re not telling them.
The second approach is to craft or design your uniqueness. What would you like to be known for? How can you best help your people? What do you stand for or against?
For some companies that are already doing something that’s unique, they just need to put the spotlight on what makes them unique. Their customers or clients want to know what differentiates them from the competition. Other companies may not actually have something that’s very unique yet. However, all they need to do is determine how they would like to uniquely help their customers in a way that is different than the competition.
How to make it happen
There’s always a way to stand out from the crowd, to differentiate yourself, and be unique.
There are several ways you can work through the process of creating your uniqueness. If you’re ready to explore becoming unique in your industry so you can stand out from the competition, you can read this article about how to create your uniqueness.
But once you’ve selected one thing that will make you unique, it’s time to let people know about that uniqueness. You need to promote that uniqueness everywhere; your website, business card, advertising, and all other promotional material.
If you don’t feel that your business stands out from the competition it’s time to do something about it. It’s time to find or create what makes you unique and then shout it from the rooftops.
Your customers or clients want an easy way to select your business. Make it easy by standing out from the competition. They’re looking for just the right business to help them. Make it easy for the right people to fall in love with your business.