I’ve been in Vancouver with my family for the past seven days, and I have to say that Vancouver is a pretty cool place to visit and it’s surrounded by so much natural beauty, which makes it unique. No wonder it has been named as one of the world’s most liveable cities.
Anyway, yesterday we visited the Vancouver Police Museum, which I highly recommend if you’re in Vancouver, and as I was looking through the exhibits and photographs from the early 1900’s, it struck me that so many cities in the same era looked very similar. It’s hard to tell them apart.
So, why am I mentioning this?
It’s because regardless of how similar they all were in the early 1900’s, over the past 100 years most cities have developed a particular uniqueness or an iconic figure that separates them from each other.
If you think of Stanley Park, you think Vancouver. The Golden Gate Bridge, you think San Francisco and closer to home when you see a picture of the Opera House you think immediately Sydney.
And it’s the uniqueness of each city, which is used in their tourism marketing.
Small Business
This concept of creating uniqueness got me thinking about how small businesses need to be doing the same thing.
I was reading a blog article on Linkedin, written by Richard Branson and he said every airline starts with the same components, but what sets them apart is their people.
Think about that for a moment.
Most airlines have similar aeroplanes and use the same airport, so it’s their uniqueness that separates them from their competitors, or as Richard put it, it’s their people.
This blog article got me thinking about my career and a question my wife asked me many years ago, and I think her question applies to every profession, trade, and career.
“How come you can go through university, learn the same information from the same lecturers, pass the same exams, yet within a few years of leaving university you all practice so differently?”
To put this question in context, my background is podiatry and this question related to my podiatry business in Cairns, and she was comparing my podiatry business to all the other podiatry businesses in the area.
At the time my business had the latest equipment and offered services that no one else in town even considered. My podiatry business was leaps and bounds ahead of my competitors, and I used this to my marketing advantage.
What Sets You Apart
So here’s my question to you, and the point behind today’s podcast, what sets your business apart from your competitors? Do you have some form of uniqueness that you can use to your advantage and make it part of your marketing strategy?
If you cannot tell your ‘ideal clients’ why your business is different and what it is that sets you apart from your competitors, how on earth can your clients tell you apart?
They can’t.
And this is why the person down the road who you know provides an inferior service or has less training than you do is kicking your butt, or at a minimum taking some of your clients.
So what do you need to do?
Have a team meeting and write down all the services you offer and all the small things you do that you know your competition don’t do. Note down everything that makes your business unique.
When this list is complete, you need to convey this information in all your client communications and all your marketing. Be proud of what make you unique.
Find Your Stanley Park
You need to be like Vancouver and shout out proudly what makes you better than every other city in the world. Don’t keep what makes you great a secret.
Did you know that Stanley Park is 10% bigger than Central Park in New York City? No. Well, you do now.
You need to find the Stanley Park in your business.
I hope you get something from today’s podcast and if you have any questions, please send me an email at
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