Dare To Be Different?
So you’re starting or running a company. You know your product is amazing, and so you get to work telling everyone about it.
You are not alone in this effort. There are thousands of businesses out there with amazing products just like yours. And they’re all trying to get their customers’ attention too, right? So how do you make your business stand out?
Here are three reasons why it is important to be different in marketing your business:
1. People will remember you more quickly if you stand out from the crowd.
2. If you can describe your business in just a few words, their ears will perk up.
3. People won’t feel like they’re getting the same message over and over again (and they’ll be more likely to listen).
How To stand out from the crowd, differentiate yourself from others.
How to differentiate your business for attention
Step 1: Take a look at some of our favorite brands.
Step 2: Check their social media feeds.
Step 3: Notice that they all have one thing in common: they’re doing something totally different. They don’t look like anyone else, they don’t sound like anyone else, and they don’t act like anyone else. This is why we love them so much!
So how do you become one of these cool kids?
Simple. Look at what everyone else is doing and do the opposite—that’s it! But if you need a little more inspiration, here are a few ways to start thinking about how to make your brand stand out from the crowd.
Find your voice – Think about what makes your company special, and talk about that stuff! There’s no point in copying other brands because you want people to remember YOU, not THEM. So find what makes you unique, and run with it. Your logo should reflect this too—if it can’t stand on its own without text next to it then maybe you need another designer? Just kidding (kind of). Don’t be afraid to get weird either—the best brands always push the envelope in at least one way.
Let your freak flag fly. If you don’t want to be lost in the crowd, you gotta let your freak flag fly. You don’t have to go big if you don’t want to, but you do have to be true to yourself and your brand—that way people get a sense of who you are and what you stand for as soon as they see you.
Be bold, even if it’s not in your nature. If your natural tendency is to keep things simple, add a pop of color or a little glitter to your look.
If you’re already full-on sparkle and shine, try dialing it back with some simple cuts and classic patterns. The point is not that one style is better than another—it’s that whatever style or identity you choose, be bold about it! People will take notice.
Change up your routine. If people are used to seeing your face in the same place at the same time every day, change it up! They might not notice right away—the human mind is pretty good at ignoring things that seem like they shouldn’t be there—but eventually they’ll see that something’s different.
Why Prospect engagement matters.
Imagine you’re at a concert. You’re at the front of the stage and you can see the performer’s sweat glistening in the light, you can tell exactly how hard they’re working to put on a show for you, you can hear every note of the music and feel it vibrate through your chest.
Now imagine you’re in the back of a very large room, where there’s a faint buzz from some speakers. You can’t really see anything going on—just some shadows moving around on a foggy stage. The music isn’t quite loud enough to make out any individual notes.
Prospect engagement is what happens when your customer is in that front-row seat, instead of the back of the auditorium.
1) Make it easy for them to interact with you. Include a call-to-action on every piece of content you publish, and make sure it’s clear and actionable!
2) Make your audience feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves by tapping into their emotions and desire for community.
3) Use humor—people love witty jokes or puns (think of the Old Spice commercials). Just be careful not to offend anyone with sensitive topics like politics or religion.
You need your prospect to take action!!
So how do you get your prospect to take action?
The secret to getting your prospect to take action is…
Make them feel something!
Feelings are incredibly powerful. They can make us feel like we can conquer the world, and they can also paralyze us with fear.
My favorite quote of all time is from Neale Donald Walsch: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
Advertising is so much more than just a nice little jingle or a cool slogan. It’s about making people feel something—inspiring them to be different and take action.
When you’re creating anything, whether it’s a product, an ad campaign, or the next great Australian novel, you have to think about what you want your reader to feel. Is it anger? Sadness? Fear? Or is it happiness? Joy? Peace? Curiosity? Excitement?
Whatever emotion you want to stir up in your prospect, that’s what should drive your work. If you don’t know how you want your audience to feel, then how will you ever know when you’re done with your project?
Understanding what emotions drive people will make all the difference for whatever you’re working on, because people don’t just buy products—they buy how products make them feel.
If you want your prospect to take action, use their feelings as a tool! Make them feel like they absolutely HAVE to act NOW or else they’ll miss out on an incredible opportunity, make them feel like this is their LAST chance to get in on the best thing since sliced bread.
Have a clear call to action
A lot has been written on the subject of CTA’s (calls to action) throughout the centuries. In his epic poem “The Iliad,” Homer describes a well-known CTA of the time, “Achilles, slay Hector!” Hippocrates, in his work titled “On Ancient Medicine,” says “If you have a fever and are feeling ill, ask your physician for an antidote.”
And yet, despite all this information available, there still seems to be some confusion about how to write a good CTA. What we’re looking at here is not so much the best strategic approach—that’s going to depend on your audience and your goals—but rather the best way to write a convincing CTA that will get your prospect excited about taking action.
Calls to action (CTAs) are like the instructions for your prospect. Without them, it’s hard to know what to do next.
So how can you make sure your CTAs are clear? Here are some tips:
1. Keep it simple. “Click here” or “Learn more” are good examples of simple CTAs that are easy to understand.
2. Make it stand out. Bolding or underlining your CTA will help readers notice it right away.
3. Say it with a button. Buttons are great for CTAs because they’re easy to see, and they look clickable.
Not all of the mechanisms suggested above will work effectively on all prospects, but you have to test what works for your prospect.
If you’re going to take a stand and be different, make sure it stems from your unique story and how you can benefit the client. If you just blindly follow others, there’s no point in being in business. Get noticed, be heard, and do what it takes to find success in your business.
To quote a great American entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz “Better Isn’t Better, Different Is Better”
Let me know, what you think, comment below or just drop us a line..
Dedicated To Your Marketing Success
John
