DON’T THINK BETTER, THINK DIFFERENT
America’s great successes are not the companies that did what others did, but a little better. They are the companies that decided to do things a whole lot differently.
I sat in a meeting today and listened for two hours to a staff presentation on how they were going to do things better than their competition. They are planning on growing their membership by using social media and then offering the same exact services that are available in hundreds of other places, but theirs was going to be better.
I did ask one question, “How does your target market want to be contacted?” I got “the look” and an answer “everyone uses social media”. I never got to my second question, “What is your target market really buying?”
In any business enterprise, you as an owner, have to realize that marketing is not a part time endeavor or a department. In any small business, marketing is your business.
In any small business, marketing is a relationship development process. In growing a business there are a limited amount of “points of contact”. Each one should be looked at as a “precious opportunity” and has to make a phenomenal impression. Points of contact include your business card, your brochure, your personal appearance, your web page, your social media presence, etc. Your points of contact have to be uniquely different than what the rest of the business world uses.
In the world of small business there is no such thing as a bad marketing idea; unfortunately, many times when an idea is shared or an option asked, your good idea may be squashed. There is no point in killing an idea because someone tells you it won’t work. If you are doing anything worthwhile, you probably will suffer many failures before you achieve success. Permanent failure occurs because not enough small failures occurred first.
I frequently remind myself about Gary Keller’s book, The One Thing. The same thinking process should apply to your business. Stand for one thing that differentiates you from your competitors.
Stand for one thing that differentiates you from your competitors.
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