Make Your Business Remarkable

In Part 1 of this series we discussed the reality of business as usual.

And two of my biggest business takeaways from recent events as follows –

  • To succeed in business, you must be brave, and
  • You must ensure your business somehow stands apart from the crowd.

We discussed bravery previously, so now consider…

Standing Apart from the Crowd

I use the term “stand apart” instead of “stand out” because it means to offer something better, rather than just being the noisiest or the most visible but without substance behind you.

But standing apart still requires you to tell your story and to ensure it reaches those who can most benefit from your high quality product or service. And when it comes to telling your story, bravery goes a long way.

As a reminder to help me to be brave, I recently started re-reading Seth Godin’s book Purple Cow – Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. (Editor: We will review the book on the CapitalQ Blog in the coming weeks).

The point Seth makes is simple enough – to be truly successful your business must be remarkable.

Being remarkable means that your business is worth remarking about, worth talking about, worth telling others about.

And to be worth talking about, you have to stand apart.

No one is going to talk about you if you are, and you behave, the same as everyone else.

Doing a great job is of course one way to stand apart from those who don’t.

But let’s face it, in most businesses and most industries, there are a lot of competitors, most of whom are trying their best to do a good job.

Doing a good job is a given, it’s the minimum price of entry to having a business that survives.

The fact is you need more than this…

  • You must build a brand your customers notice and remember.
  • A brand your customers rely on.
  • A brand your customers can depend on.
  • A brand that can weather the storms and remain at the forefront of your customers minds when they need you.

…the best the timid can hope for… is to go unnoticed!

Telling Your Story

We admit it’s not always easy to tell your story.

For many it doesn’t come naturally. But being difficult is not the reason most don’t try.

Most don’t try because they are afraid. Afraid of what people will say, of criticism, of failing while in the spotlight.

But to paraphrase Seth – the best the timid can hope for… is to go unnoticed!

So if you were to be brave, what could you do differently to build your brand, to stand apart, to make your business remarkable and therefore, to prosper?