May 2006

Being Different - Like Everyone Else

By Larry Bailin, CEO Single Throw

No business cliché makes the hair on my neck stand up like, “think outside the box.” Most companies don't know what “the box” actually is, so how can they think outside of it? For too many companies, the box is their industry and using industry specialty services is easy; it's what everyone else does. Here's the problem, no two businesses – no matter how similar – can be completely alike. Every business has a differentiator that separates it from its competitors. You are different from your competitors—you just have to start acting like it. Every business has its own unique personality that comes from the unique personalities of those who run and work within it. There is nothing wrong with thinking inside the box, but to succeed and be heard amongst all of today's marketing noise, you just may have to hire outside of it.

When it comes to marketing, you have to stand out from the pack. In fact, this is what marketing is all about - standing out. Typically, you will have to market to the same potential customers as your competition, but you don't have to do it the same way, do you? Seems like a simple concept—market differently than your competitors and you'll stand out, yet most companies do just the opposite.

Let's take websites for example; there are fewer marketing tools (if any) that are more effective or have the ability to produce better qualified leads than a well developed website. Marketing via a website affords a company the freedom and opportunity to be different — to stand out and be heard. The problem is that when marketers are given unlimited ability to stand out, typically, they just imitate each other.

A lot of industries have two fatal flaws when it comes to marketing themselves via a website. The first fatal flaw is to start your marketing strategy by looking at your competitors. You look at the competition to see what they are doing, then make sure you do the same things. Do you have any idea if what they are doing is working? No, you don't. So, why would a smart company mimic another without the benefit of factual, reliable results data? A smart company wouldn't.

Fatal flaw number two: hiring a firm that focuses only on your industry. Sure, this strategy works well when it comes to buying specialized business operations or POS software, but marketing? I'm going to give you the secret to marketing success right here, right now, in this article. The secret to success in marketing is merging ideas from other industries into yours. That's it—the secret to marketing success, right here in black and white.

When you hire a firm that only deals with one type of industry, they may be able to get things done faster, but that's because they have to do little creative thinking. They take the same old information and imagery used by your competitors and repurpose it for you. Essentially, you're getting the exact same information and features as your competitors. You have no way to stand out. There is no creative thinking or leveraging of your company's unique value proposition, your differentiator. All you get is the same useless information spanning across an entire industry.

Now I'm not talking about your website's design, I'm really talking more about the content. The content is what creates that elusive “persuasive momentum” that can turn those with passing interest into customers. A unique creative design cannot be slapped on the same old information. Unfortunately, marketers are predisposed to creativity, which tends to complicate the issue. Your website needs to creatively entice potential clients to make contact or purchase. However, slapping a new face on the same old tired information will not do the trick; this is creativity for the sake of creativity and will help no one.

You cannot market this way. If you market exactly the same way your competitors do and use the same marketing firm your competitors do, you are – in essence – leveling the playing field. You may as well do nothing at all. You will never stand out if you don't start thinking differently, and to think differently than your competition, you need to bring in talented individuals who specialize in acquiring customers as opposed to specializing in doing work for your competition.

Do yourself a favor and get a fresh view, a new set of eyes, new energy, and new ideas: hire a company that can truly bring something new and exciting to the table. Hiring a firm from outside your industry can give you a competitive advantage, and you'll be pleasantly surprised at the insights, advantages, ideas, and results being unique can provide when it comes to marketing your company. Stop being “different” like everyone else and hire a company that can help you stand out, not fit in.

For more information on Single Throw's email marketing services contact Kimberley Kerken at 732.451.0820 ext 115 or by email at KerkenK@SingleThrow.com

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