Standing Out From the Crowd
Starting your own business is an achievement worth celebrating—but it is only the beginning. The next challenge is making it stand out. Ask yourself what is different about your business and what you can do to make it remarkable. A truly remarkable business must be your aim. In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing. Not standing out is the same as being invisible. Being invisible may feel safe, but it will never lead you to the top. If you want true greatness, you must resist the urge to play it safe. You must be brave, bold, and unafraid to be unique. This guide explores how to find your purple cow, infuse the WOW factor into every aspect of your business, and build something that customers cannot ignore.
The Purple Cow Concept
Seth Godin introduced the concept of the "Purple Cow." After looking at cows for a while, they all look the same—common, ordinary, dull, and boring. But a purple cow would be entirely different and genuinely remarkable. It would attract attention, start conversations, and draw people from everywhere. It would not be forgotten moments after being seen. That is what you need to rise above the rest: your own version of the purple cow.
The purple cow is the art of building something into your product or service that customers will notice. Fancy advertising alone is not enough. Without a purple cow, your business remains invisible. You need to color it purple so it screams, "Here I am."
Many business owners fail to apply this principle because they do not know how to generate that magnificent, game-changing idea. It takes work and collaboration. Others avoid being remarkable because they fear criticism, success, and being disliked. If you are remarkable, you will receive criticism. There will be whispers behind your back. You will not be liked by everyone—but no one is. Those who stand out are always more open to scrutiny. It is the price of being truly remarkable. As the saying goes: no guts, no glory.
Set Yourself Up as Different
To stand taller than your competitors, determine what makes you different. Focus on that and find ways to celebrate it. Your differences become the foundation of your unique selling point. This requires a clear vision for your company. Branding your business demands absolute clarity about what your vision is. What is different about your products or services? Once you know, find ways to package your products differently—in a manner that makes people say "Wow."
Your business plan must include a strategy for being remarkable. Every business has this capability. Do not be lazy or make excuses. Put in the work and the forethought. Anyone can open a business or offer a service. You must go one step further—the extra mile with the extra effort. Do not give 100 percent. Give 200 percent. Find your niche and take the initiative to be yourself, but a version of yourself that is distinct from everyone else. You can sell the same products as fifty other businesses in your area, but you will have the hook that draws customers in.
Put Yourself Into the Heart of Your Business
Are you recognizable to the people you serve? Do customers know who you are? Are you hands-on in your business, or are you rarely on the premises? Do you offer a unique personal touch unavailable elsewhere? Personal connection matters deeply.
People want to feel that their business matters and that they matter when they walk through the door. Customers can go anywhere for their Sunday morning coffee. But if you are visible in your shop, greeting customers by name, you set yourself apart with that extra special touch that makes them return repeatedly. Many customers also appreciate comfortable predictability—knowing what to expect and valuing consistency. Put yourself in your own business and show your customers they make a difference. Do not hide in your office. That endears you to no one and does nothing to make your business remarkable. You are the heart of the business. Give it the beating heart it deserves.
Wow Your Customers
The WOW factor is the quality that makes something surprising, impressive, or amazing. To achieve it, you do not need to break the bank or do something outrageous. Your aim is to provide customers with a fantastic experience that makes them exclaim, "Wow!" This brings them back repeatedly and encourages them to tell others about their amazing experience at your business.
The WOW factor does not need to be enormous or involve constant extreme change. It can be as simple as offering a delicious treat while customers browse, returning phone calls faster than competitors, free offers, contests, raffles, handing out flowers on Mother's Day, or candy canes at Christmas. Use your imagination. Ask yourself what wows you. Perhaps you can choose a way to wow people that has nothing to do with the products you sell. The element of total surprise may be what works for you. Be original. Be creative. Think WOW and make it real.
Practical examples: set up product demonstrations in your store, offer balloons or small trinkets to children, provide money-saving coupons, sell locally made items, offer prizes for best-dressed customers, or have staff readily available to assist customers with anything they need.
Develop a Personal Style
You gain no points in the current marketplace for repeating tired old ideas or being a copycat. Develop your own unique personal style in every aspect of your business—from the ground up. Your personal style can be your purple cow. You are unique because there is only one you in the world. Take that with you wherever it needs to go.
Your personal style should shine through clearly in everything: the design of your business cards, your letterhead, how you dress at work, how you conduct business, how your physical space is arranged. Do not look at the successful business down the street and try to replicate it. Potential customers see through imitation immediately and will never become regulars. You already have a personal style in your personal life—transfer it into your professional life. Be yourself and make that evident to others. Communicate your unique style to everyone you deal with, and the positive word will spread. Wow people by not being afraid to be who you are. By being honest and upfront, customers can decide for themselves if your business is where they want to spend their money.
Use Creative Imagery to Appeal to the Eye
Imagery is a powerful tool for keeping a steady stream of customers happy to walk through your door and for standing out from the crowd. Use imagery creatively and uniquely in every aspect of your business—online, offline, or both. Apply it to business cards, flyers, and marketing materials. Make your advertising items as fun and visually appealing as possible. This gets people talking, which is exactly what you want. To be remarkable, people need to know you exist and that you do things differently.
Colorful murals speak volumes. If your business sells aquatic items, a large whale mural looks terrific. A school of fish welcomes customers and gets children smiling and pointing excitedly. Seasonal murals add festivity and give customers pause. These details communicate that you care about your business and therefore your customers. Think of businesses you have enjoyed over the years. Did they use color, design, and imagery in ways that pleased you? Those elements stay with you. Your business can work the same way.
Be a Traditionalist, Not a Fad Chaser
Sometimes going the extra mile for customers is what makes you special. Standing out means offering rare treats customers cannot get elsewhere. Fads come and go, but strive for something different that offers the traditional touch. Not all restaurants serve old-fashioned milkshakes. Be the first one that does. Not all your customers want soda—offer them something unavailable down the street. Begin with excellent customer service, quality products, product guarantees, and genuine value for the dollar. These are not fads. They are traditions you should uphold in every way. These important elements will always be in style.
Bringing Out the Purple Cow in Your Business
To make your business remarkable, ask yourself the right questions—new questions with newer answers. Try new ways of doing things. Instead of thinking outside the box, redesign the box so you never need to step outside it at all.
If you could choose your own customers, who would you select? Identify this group, then figure out how to market to them and influence their thinking. Develop your business ideas to serve this group. Forget the rest. Focus here. Think of clever, innovative ways to reward this group for choosing you. Ask for email addresses and consider what you could send that would make them feel genuinely special. Everyone appreciates an offer for 10 or 15 percent off a purchase. Everyone likes feeling part of an elite group of your most loyal, valuable customers.
The Pareto Principle—the 80/20 Rule—teaches that holding onto a long-term customer is far easier than finding a new one. Eighty percent of your business will come from 20 percent of your loyal customers. Find ways to keep surprising your customers and putting smiles on their faces.
Being remarkable does not necessarily mean being the biggest, fastest, or anything specific. It is about testing limits and discovering how far they can be pushed. It might be as simple as changing your store window display more often, letting employees choose their own uniforms, launching a new brand, or slashing prices. It might mean doing things on a smaller scale, giving customers more choices, being more receptive to their input, sending a weekly or monthly newsletter, or creating advertisements with larger print that are easier to read.
Research your industry before you burst onto the scene declaring how remarkable you are. What is not currently taking place? What is absent? What does the industry need? Whatever is not being done is exactly what you should be doing. This gives you the edge to win in your field. Success comes only when you refuse to sit on the sidelines and are unafraid to break rules and ruffle feathers. Your business is worth it. Reinvent yourself and your business as you see fit. When you need to infuse new life into any aspect of your business, hire professionals who can help. Your business is only as good as the people you employ, so find the best and let them help you become the purple cow among the brown cows.
