Why have a niche? Because different beats better. Commodities compete on price. Two professionals in the same market doing the same job for the same client will compete over a subjective measurement of better. If the services are truly identical, “better” and “cost” will be indistinguishable and cheaper will win. Trying to be better results … Continue reading Niche Marketing: Different Beats Better
If we want to create value, we need to focus on “different” before “better.” Things that are different defy comparisons. Things that are better invite them. If we really want to create value, then we have to guide the discovery of it. Explaining how/why something is different curates that discovery. All luxury is based on … Continue reading Different vs. Better
[what follows is a riff on my appreciation for creative choices, design, and communicating emotions. you, dear reader, are my proverbial water cooler friends this morning] I’m writing this before the last episode of Better Call Saul airs – and however the series ends, I’m feeling grateful for TV like this. No spoilers, but I … Continue reading Life Isn’t Black And White (Better Call Saul Edition)
Everybody comes back from vacation and inventories their frustrations and failures, right? Just me? I’m an optimist (or so I tell myself). I’m working on the list of positive things to focus on too. This James Clear quote sums up the backward-looks well: Different meanings can be assigned to the same events. Look for evidence … Continue reading Different Meanings For The Same Events
Golf balls used to be smooth, almost like weighted ping pong balls. According to legend, someone noticed how certain beat-up balls actually traveled further than the perfectly round balls. As it turns out, there’s some science behind this truth. As it also turns out, there’s a great metaphor behind it too. A flat surface causes … Continue reading Golf Balls And Better Work
If they made a standard looking pickup, how would we tell it apart from any other Ford/Chevy/Toyota/etc.? We wouldn’t. Instead, it looks like (to quote Benedict Evans), “a prop from a 1980s Jean Claude Van Damme movie,” or (quoting others), a doorstop, the old Apple mouse, or a triangle on wheels. The so-called indestructible window … Continue reading Be Different: The (Non-EV Related) Brilliance Of The Cybertruck
Nir Eyal says, “People don’t want something truly new, they want the familiar done differently.” When we’re explaining our products and services to others, this is one of the simplest and most important insights to remember. Whenever someone isn’t “getting it,” we should troubleshoot what we’re doing to determine if our message isn’t different enough … Continue reading California Rolls And The Power Of “Familiar But Different”
Songwriter Priscilla Renea doesn’t like when co-writers say “no” in sessions without any additional input. She would much rather hear “no, but let’s try…” or, my favorite, “no, we can do better.” Renea isn’t talking about a perpetual march towards perfection either. She’s talking about how we really want to collaborate with our clients and coworkers. … Continue reading No, We Can Do Better
Better Oblivion Community Center is a cross-gender collaboration between folk-ish lyricist extraordinaire’s Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers. It sighs, it rocks quietly in the corner, and it occasionally raises its voice a little and tries to dance, taking pages from Wilco and the Replacements as much as from Dylan and Cohen in their most poetic … Continue reading Sunday Music: Better Oblivion Community Center
Every successful business tells a story that differentiates themselves from the competition in their customers’ minds. Differentiation boils down to telling a story, but there are 4 key elements that every business story can focus on (via marketing master Seth Godin): Comparison, affiliation, ritual, and fear. The real pros get multiplier points by being conscientious … Continue reading The 4 Key Elements of Differentiation
