If you are fairly good at what your business does then that’s a nice place to be. Nice, warm, comfortable. But it’s not very compelling for customers. For you it might even be quite a dangerous place to be. After all, mediocrity is not something to be celebrated.
How many people want to go to the 20th best restaurant in town when they could go to the best? Or go to the 20th best hairdresser? Or go under the scalpel of the 20th best heart surgeon? Or the 20th best business advisor? I am sure you get my point.
A restaurant or a hairdresser or a surgeon or an advisor that was so good that people talked about them – isn’t that the goal?! Maybe it is unrealistic to be so good. Or is it?
If you are simply awesome (in the true sense of the word, extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring awe) then wouldn’t that be a thing. You would be so good that they couldn’t ignore you.
This is not about being phenomenally good at something that people don’t care about (eg “we are the suppliers with the tidiest desks” or “we are the suppliers with the cleanest hair”). This is about being so good at what is important to customers that they cannot ignore you. Now that would be pretty special.
So what is it that you would have to be so good at that they couldn’t ignore you? A doctor that can extend people’s lives? A dentist that is painless? An accountant that cuts tax bills by 50%? An advisor who doubles your profits?
We all need to think about being so good that they can’t ignore us. But it also has to be believable. So, there’s the challenge. Be so good that they can’t ignore you. Be so good that people talk about you. Be remarkable – in other words, worthy of remark. But your claim mustn’t be totally fantastical.
Wouldn’t it be great if you were so good that they couldn’t ignore you?
Or you could settle for mediocre, full, run-of-the-mill and average. No thank you.