Be not just UNIQUE but UNIQUELY VALUABLE
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Waww…we are really going down the rabbit hole on this one. For so long we have been telling people that have to be themselves, do what comes naturally to them and pursue the uniqueness of you in business. This is something a lot of people have jumped on. Now researchers have realized, that is just not enough. The key now is the understand how to be ‘uniquely valuable’.
One thing that has become clear these days is that thanks to the new trend in marketing through social media, that we can finally reach everyone, but the interesting thing is that not everyone is the same, in fact, everyone is not only different, with different needs, but actually have completely different worlds in which they live in (inside their heads that is!).
The key to understanding this is to understand how to meld the unique you with the new direction you can offer people. The easiest way to understand it is about understanding your ‘angle’.
Let’s take the idea of Uber as a well known example, and we all know that Uber certainly was a game changer, but the question to ask is how and why. Uber initially entered the market as a tech company that could allow people to book their taxis online. Great idea. So why didn’t all taxi drivers do that? It’s not a particularly unique angle – at the end of the day you still need a taxi driver to pick you up and take you somewhere. The angle was not about the technology side, it was the aspect of time and availability it allowed the customer. At the same time Uber also stated that their taxis had to be a certain quality and they didn’t look like taxis they were just ordinary cars that picked people up and dropped people off. Uber drivers could do many jobs at once, one of which was an Uber driver. The question was – did that matter? The answer – Not really.
The other angle was that everyone paid online and no money was exchanged in the car, that meant that the taxi ride was totally transparent. This allowed the consumer to be ‘delighted at the speed and transparency’ in which the business was done.
The flavor of the value that was left in the market was so fresh and unique that everyone wanted it. People couldn’t believe how easy it all was and how fast and cheap it ended up being for them. This was the unique value that Uber offered. This had never been done before.
The other thing was that Uber managed to offer such a unique service because they listened to their customers responses. They were blown away by how quickly it took hold and tweaked and altered their approach to enhance their value even more.
This is understanding the unique value that you offer. You being you is one thing, but understand the direction ‘you’ can take with your customer is the fundamental difference. You shouldn’t actually watch and follow your competitors because they are doing what they understand the world to be, you should be doing what you understand the world to be. This comes from trial and error and listening intently to the response of your audience.
It’s a tall order for a newcomer into business to develop their unique value because it requires a lot of insight, but at the same time, a fresh young mind can naively do something creative without knowing, and this then becomes the unique value. Understanding what it is comes later. Whereas if you are older and have been in business a long time, it is difficult to change your old mindset to a new one to develop the unique value. It takes great courage and energy to redirect things. However, saying that, if you want to stay in business, it has to be done, whether you are young or old.
So be unique and uniquely valuable, then for sure you will be the only one in your league, and when you are the only one in your league, you will have zero competition! That’s every business person’s dream!