February 28

How Unique and Sexy is Your Business? Does it Matter?

Do you need to be unique? Will it give you a real competitive edge?

In my work with various companies, I find some companies who concentrate on unique offerings to clients. Do you really need to be unique to be successful?

The answer is “No” if your definition of success does not involve being unique. Here’s a question to think about: are the owners of Papa John’s pizza places unsuccessful? Not the ones I know. There’s nothing unique about Papa John’s pizza. The owners of the franchises make good money, enjoy ownership, and have ample free time.

Instant oil changes, dry cleaners, gyms, cereal, concrete delivery, and the list goes on. They do not need to be unique and are not sexy, but all of the owners/executives I know in these industries make great money and enjoy what they do.

If you want to define an industry, being unique is very important. Consider iPods. Apple owns the portable media device market. What about Starbucks?

Being unique is nothing without marketing it. This is where the “sexy” comes into play. Emotions come into play, too.

If you want people to feel something when they think of your company/product/service, then you need to be unique and sexy. Without these two components, you should change your strategy to get into an industry that does not need these two and has less risk for you.