In life everyone loves a good game as long as it remains fair, right? Wrong. If everything was one hundred percent fair every game would end up in a tie. The saying “May the best man win” must mean that someone will end up with an advantage in some way or another. In business no one wants the game to be fair. Business owners want to have the advantage and the competitive edge.
Having the competitive advantage is nearly impossible if you are playing their game. Often we have customers who come in and show us competitor’s websites, branding, or marketing material. They begin to tell us what they like, what they don’t like and that they want to be like this other company in someway or another. Sure this company will end up competing and possibly take a bite out of the pie, but they usually will end up with no advantage and never achieve their desire of being the winner.
There was a landscaper who started his own company. He began to research all his competition. He called these companies asking them how their procedures worked, how they marketed, how they estimated, managed invoicing and customer relations. Many of business owners didn’t mind sharing the information because they all believed their methods were far superior to the competition. However they didn’t realize they were pretty much all the same. They all advertised in the same locations, they all had similar procedures and they all seemed to have a similar branded look. The companies were playing the same game and if he jumped in he would have a terrible time trying to have a competitive advantage, not to mention trying to build a solid customer base quickly.
One major thing that seemed odd was the fact the every company advertised in the Yellowpages. It appeared that this method of advertising was the holy grail of exposure, but in order to compete you need to stand out from the crowd. Standing out meant having a bigger or more colorful ad, which always meant more money and that was something his startup didn’t have. So he devised a plan that was totally contrary to the competition. He set aside the dollar amount comparable to a small add in the Yellowpages. Then used that cash to compensate him giving away free landscaping. He started offering the first maintenance free and went door-to-door canvasing the city. In a matter of weeks he had his whole summer booked with work and managed to own the advantage.
In order to have that advantage you need to “OWN THE GAME”. Recently I decided to switch to a new family Dentist. For many of us this can be a very hard choice since the thought of the Dentist sends chills down your spine. However my wife and I started our quest. We looked around and one specific dentist stood out. This dentist “OWNED THE GAME” and capture my attention instantly. They had amazing trendy look that was very appealing. This immediately sent the message to me that if they cared enough about their image they must care about their customers. They could have gone with the standard sterile look of many heath institutions and followed the norm. They chose to standout, to not look at competition and chose to be unique.
Why would any business start off thinking I want to be like everyone else, I only every want to be second place? We don’t! As business owners we set out with passion and a drive to be number one. However, our fear or lack of understanding drops us into the game of our competition. This year as you embark ask yourself If you are playing the game or if you are owning the game. Design something different, head in a new direction, advertise in a different place, and own the advantage.