Most businesses are boring.
And I don’t mean boring in terms of Office Space boring.
What I’m getting at is this:
When an outsider (customer, client, passerby, etc.) looks at your business, what do they see?
Do they see a boring front sign, boring website and boring cubicles?
Or do they find a magical operation? One filled with fun surprises. A business with that spark which makes people say “Whoa, these folks got something special go on here!”
This is the essence of business design in the 21st century: Be Remarkable.
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Conventional business wisdom states that the more unique your company’s niche, the more potential for success.
And at its core, this makes complete sense. Finding a niche usually results in a lot less competitors, along with a loyal group of customers.
But you must also keep the future in mind.
Where do you see your business in 1 year? In 5 years? In 50?
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More does not equal better. More features does not equal a better product. More attention does not equal more customers. More customers does not equal more profit.
And, more often than not, more is not an effective strategy. In fact, it’s often a failed strategy. Especially when it comes to marketing.
Everyone seems to be after more. More attention, more followers, more likes, more ________ (fill in the blank).
Before you decide to go after more, consider this…
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Are you continually adding features to your product or service? It’s easy to do. And it may seem like a smart move.
It’s a classical formula: Adding More = Better
But does it? Is adding more really better… Or is it overwhelming?
As you work on your products and services, are you including more and more stuff logically? Or are you just adding stuff to add it? Maybe, you’re including more in the sales conversation to help overcome objections. Maybe you’re trying to reach a larger audience by offering more options. Or maybe you want to add more functionality for your current clients. Whatever you’re doing, you must painstakingly watch out for feature creep.
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If you are like many entrepreneurs on a tight marketing budget, social media seems to be the best answer for your online marketing. And for good reason: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the new Google+ have millions and millions of users and are all free!
So why not leverage these platforms for all your web marketing efforts, right?
Wrong.
When you put all of your “marketing eggs” in the social media basket, you’re on a losing path. Because you have little control over the marketing campaign. You don’t own the basket. You’re renting the basket with no guarantees of that basket existing in two years, two months or even two days.
And history proves this. Myspace was once all the rage. So was AOL (remember those CD’s we all received in the mail). Giants can fall.
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