You have heard it before: If you want to stand out, you have to do something unique. True, but not always.

I came across this article in RainToday.com talking about how trying too hard to be unique in business and marketing can sometimes be a silly thing. Here are the salient points:

1. Think before trying something different

If everyone in the industry is doing the same marketing tactic, there might be a reason why they are doing it. Maybe, the simple reason is that it works!  Take some time to study the tactic and ask yourself how effective it is. If you have an idea to do it differently, will your prospects and customers be paying attention to it?

Sometimes you can be too unique for your own good. There’s a lot in sales and marketing that is tried and

true. If you decide to go down a different trail, you may be attempting something that many others in your

field have already tried with no success.

2. The Unknown can be the same as The Useless

If you are selling something very different, or consulting on something unique, Will people actually want it? It’s nice to say that you dont have competitors. But if you dont have competitors then it means consumers dont really have a need for your product/service. Unless of course you want to invest time and money to educating on how good ur new creation/idea is. If it is really good, by the time your customers ‘get it’, you will already have competitors. So in business it is quite naive to say that you have no competitors. The only person you are hurting by saying that is you.

Being noticeably different from the competition can help you attract customers and close sales. But

claiming that you have no competition is naive. Comparisons to a known quantity can help prospective

customers understand where your product or service fits in the range of solutions they are considering. If

they can’t compare it to anything, it’s doubtful they will be able to see how your offering could work.

3. Know who you are talking to

If you are trying something unique, start with the target consumers in mind first before developing the tactic. If you are too engrossed in the tactic itself, trying very hard to be unique, will anyone understand it?

Creating the perception that your product or service is one of a kind can help you capture people’s

attention and make them remember you. But you have to be able to identify the people you want to reach

and communicate how you can be of service in words they understand.

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