Strive To Be Different……..
Between day-to-day tasks of running your business, it can be hard for the business owner to keep the main goal insight. And, in doing this find it hard to be different from the rest. If you want to create a product or service that lasts, you have to be different from the rest and set yourself apart!
1. Be remarkable.
Seth Godin once said, “You’ve got to be a purple cow.” He could never be more right, you can’t blend in with the herd you have to stand out and give people something to talk about, something positive and extraordinary that you wouldn’t usually see. Don’t just be different, be outstanding!
2. Be personal.
Get to know your customers, let them get to know you. Having a personality really does affect you business, in a good way! We all know there are actually people working for the businesses we encounter and rely on in our daily lives.
3. Be accessible.
The last thing people want is to talk to a robot, or have no choice but to get things online. People want a face-to-face experiences, It is your job to make them share their wants, needs, dislikes, questions etc with the business.
4. Be genuine.
Let your customers know that you are the real deal, you can never be all things to all people. Be clear about what you and your business are about and don’t waiver from that!
5. Be relevant.
Some businesses have trouble adapting to modern day, or even their customers. Because, lets be honest – your customers needs and wants are going to change, if you want to stay relevant then you need to be able to change with them.
The trick is to be different in a way that is highly relevant to your audience. Different in a way that creates competitive advantage. Advantage that is, over time, as sustainable as possible. All of which is to say – it’s not easy.
You’re playing the game to win. To win, you need to be better than everyone else who is also playing to win. Generally, we get this fact, We are very prepared to play to win, but we’re not so prepared to be truly different. Why?
Let’s blame the system. Most of us grew up with similar names, dressed in similar clothes, went to similar schools. We “manage” our differences lest our peers find us strange. We make fun of the odd ones.
We fit in. This is why most of our highly differentiated brands were created by oddball entrepreneurs. They grew up different. They thought different. They were different. And therefore they created highly differentiated products and services.
But I digress. This is about advantage as much as it is about difference.
Difference + Advantage = Differentiated Advantage.
It’s great that Dyson carpet cleaners (and now heaters) are different, but they are designed in a way that is both different and better. It’s nice that Virgin Airlines wanted to create a unique flying experience, but it succeeded because that experience was markedly better than that offered by traditional airlines.
In the eyes of your customers, better but not different can still win the race, but it’ll be a hard-fought race every inch of the way. Being different in a way that your customers don’t perceive as better won’t take you very far.
Strong products and services are highly differentiated from all other products and services. It’s that simple. It’s that difficult.
These are all things that you need in your business to be different from the rest.
