Author, Speaker, Consultant: Ideas on Creating Profitable Customer Relationships

Unique is not enough

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

So what if you’re different? Does anyone care?

unique-not-useful.jpg

Yesterday, a friend and I were discussing one of his competitors. This company has a unique feature, and has built their entire brand story around that feature. The problem? The feature isn’t that important to many people. (My friend smiles at this competitor’s strategy)

There is a difference between being different and being differentiated. “Since 1984,” “The Largest” or “Unlike others, we use only the highest quality rivets” may all be true. But do they matter?

(Shortly after speaking with my friend, Stumble Upon brought me to this picture, at funnyharhar.com)

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Posted in Brand Harmony, Marketing | 2 Comments »

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Steve is the author of Brand Harmony and the newly published We: The Ideal Customer Relationship. Learn more and order direct from our Products page, or from Amazon.

About Steve Yastrow and Yastrow & Company

In addition to writing, I spend most of my work time helping companies unleash their potential by creating better connections with their customers. This happens through my speaking events and through Yastrow & Company consulting engagements, where my team and I help companies figure out who they intend to be in the future, and then engage the entire company in creating that future through strong "We" customer relationships.

Before starting Yastrow & Company in the mid-90s I was vice-president of resort marketing for Hyatt Hotels. My experiences in the hotel business showed me clearly that most marketing doesn’t happen in the marketing department. Customers are paying attention to all interactions with a company, not just the promises made in traditional "marketing communications."

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