Be Different
Can't you just be normal?
Today’s newsletter is a non-financial topic for a change of pace. This is one part business tool and one part self-help.
In his final letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos wrote a section titled: Differentiation is Survival and the Universe Wants You to be Typical. It’s an absolute beauty and worth your time (the passage is only 744 words).
You have to pay a price for your distinctiveness, and it’s worth it. The fairy tale version of “be yourself” is that all the pain stops as soon as you allow your distinctiveness to shine. That version is misleading. Being yourself is worth it, but don’t expect it to be easy or free. You’ll have to put energy into it continuously.
Such great advice, and it works on both a personal and professional level. The business end of being “different” would be a company’s unique selling proposition (USP).
Originally developed in the 1940’s for ad agency clients, the concept centered around a proposition that “competitors cannot or do not offer.” I love this in contrast to the generic “competitive advantage” concept because it’s less focused on your advantages (which are hard to create) and instead focused on what makes your company different.
Why this matters...
First, differentiation is one Michael Porter’s 3 approaches to creating a competitive advantage and every business owner wants an advantage when customers are choosing between our offering vs. the competition. It’s interesting to think of simply being different/unique as valuable, but that’s exactly what it is. Customers gravitate toward this and will pay up for it.
We all know that distinctiveness – originality – is valuable.
Second, I find it easier to bring energy to my work when it’s authentic. And what’s authentic is usually what makes us unique. Personal alignment with your business helps avoid burnout.
Last, the “price” and “energy” Bezos refers to is the effort it takes to avoid conforming with industry or customary norms (i.e. “Oh yes, we do that too!”). It’s not always easy to truly be oneself in business.
How to use this...
For Amazon, being different meant obsessing over the customer experience with every product developed (Prime, AWS, Alexa, etc.).
What makes your company unique isn’t limited to just one thing. It could be a combination of 3-4 things you do that no one else does or has. Maybe you and your competition have an amazing customer service experience; but only you have the customer service experience plus the handmade quality (I’m talking my own book here).
The easiest way to start using this is to constantly ask yourself: “what makes my [product, service, company, experience] different?”
By answering that question over and over, your marketing and prospecting is going to improve leaps and bounds. Both in your marketing messaging and clarity around which customers you really want to work with.