image by ilisuSomething Seth wrote quite a while back that still resonates with me today:
“As soon as they start using the tactics of the other guys, playing the game they play, they become them. As soon as they decide that they can buy (not earn) attention, it all changes.”
With all this talk of new vs. old media, the R.O.I. of Social Media, advertising spend and SEO, chances are that you’ve forgotten what made your company or services or products so different. So unique. So good.
Chances are that your success has driven you away from those early days, when being different from everyone else, when being better was what it was all about.
Back when taking care of every new customer was like going out on a first date.
Chances are that you’re more focused on aligning your pricing to that of your competitors now than you ever were.
Chances are that you’ve started to copy their every move. You advertise where they advertise. You offer the same services they offer. If they get a Facebook page, so do you. If they start a Twitter account, so do you. If they launch a BOGO offer, you aren’t far behind. Every day that goes by, the more like them you become. The less different and remarkable you are.
Chances are that you are slowly becoming a clone of the very people you once thought sucked.
“As soon as they start using the tactics of the other guys, playing the game they play, they become them. As soon as they decide that they can buy (not earn) attention, it all changes.”
Stop.
Take a breather.
Go back to the start.
Are your products still the best? Are they still unique? Is your company still unique? Are you who you promised yourself you would be when you started? Are you building real relationships with your customers? Do you matter?
Are you still earning attention?
If the answer is yes, congrats. You’re one of the rare few. I hope you manage to keep it up for decades to come.
If not… well, maybe it’s time to let go of the superficial tactics and get back to basics. What do you say?
This is nice Olivier. Not being a “me too” is in itself a differentiator these days, but it can be hard, I know (thinking of software) because you feel that to compete you have to offer the same things your competitors do.
People are always amazed I have never used Tweetdeck or Seesmic Desktop, HootSuite or the other jillions of Twitter clients out there, because I am developing my own Twitter client & the logical assumption is to get your hands on the competition. But early on I decided to stay away, because I don’t want to end up designing my product like theirs – I want to do it to the best of my ability, in the way I think it should be done for our users. I didn’t want the way those products work to influence me – even subconsciously – so that hopefully I can do something a little unique in a very crowded space. It’s hard though, I will admit, not to feel a little surge in my gut every time I see they’ve released some certain feature – some of them I have thought about already and just don’t have developed, and here they come trotting it out. I can see how people get on a path of following those instincts that say “Accckk… we have to do that too – do it now. We’re losing ground!”
This is a great reminder to use your creative juices on your own offering, and not burn daylight trying to catch up with or be just like anyone else, so thanks.
Kris has a great example on how scoping out the market can lead you to, subconsciously or not, alter your product/features/marketing (and a smart move in not opening yourself to that).
It happens all too often and I see it everyday; from online web apps to TV promotions for big pizza chains. Sure, we see some of these strategies work and I’m sure the companies are thinking “why change a good thing”, but like you said – what happened to being YOU.
The $$ signs may still come in but to what extent, losing touch with who you are and better yet, losing touch with your customers. We’ve evolved as consumers and expect the personal, the different, the awe-inspiring moves that shows a company is being true to themselves and staying relevant by NOT doing what competitors are doing. Doesn’t happen often but when it does, we definitely take note.
Great reminder here, Olivier.
Great post Oliver. The “Me too” factor will almost always raise it’s ugly head up somewhere in the organization. As marketers, we have to keep focused on the customer and fulfilling their needs/wants.