The small to mid-size business often produces the same quality product or service as the larger firm, but has a smaller promotion budget and less recognition by potential buyers. Combating this is an ongoing necessity usually demanding uniqueness to succeed.

This does not necessarily mean a unique product or service. It does mean a unique approach to advertising and marketing, and it requires advance planning.

The Idea

Once a distinctive market-driven logo and company name have been established, it is advisable to select just one target market for your product or service and use it as the testing ground for your performance marketing campaigns, recognizing that tailoring to other markets will be required later on. But your first goal is to establish new product as totally unique and beneficial for first market.

So even if you manufacture something as ordinary as ball point advertising pens which are good for all markets, you would select just one market – perhaps realtors – and your marketing would show that target group just how distinctive your pens are for use by realty firms: unique home selling imprints, unique colors to match the brokerage’s identity, unique slogans for new listing solicitations, etc.

You would create the impression that no other manufacturer has Ball Point Realty Advertising Pens – ah, now you have the idea – and thus, you are the one company to deal with.

If you are viewed as unique – the only perceived specialist in a crowded field – you will become the selling leader in that field. That is when you move on to second market, or second and third, adapting the marketing materials that worked for first market. This is the idea of repeatable uniqueness.

The Inexpensive Example

In approaching the realtors, you used a 5-minute online video presentation with a 1-minute segment focused on realtors plus a 16-page print catalog, including samples, showing all your pens and a 4-page wrap-around cover illustrating all the realty-specific points.

So, now when you approach banks, you change the 1-minute segment plus the 4-page cover of the print catalog and bingo – it is tailored to second market. Yes, it would be better if whole video and all 20 pages in each print catalog were tailored to just one specific market, but few companies can afford this unless they achieve top sales quickly.

And More Uniqueness Ideas

Other considerations for uniqueness against a world of competitors who may be selling something remarkably similar at a comparable price to a similar audience:

1. Unique add-ons or accessories to the product/service being marketed.
2. Unique benefits the competition has not thought of, or at least has not promoted.
3. Unique pricing to be just higher or lower than the competition.
4. Unique ad design and strategy.
5. Unique presentations (audios, videos, lavish print booklets, games, quizzes, webinars, special reports, online diagnostic tools) that are not used by the competition.
6. Unique product/service name and logo tailored to just one business market.