If you want people to get your message these days, the last place you want to pitch it is ‘down the middle’.
Success in your business starts with knowing whom you want to serve. Then you need to emphasize the things that make you different. You have unique combination of traits, strengths, and products that certain people will be attracted to. Some people refer to those prospects as your ‘tribe’. Succeeding in your business includes making it easy for your tribe to find you.
Just think about the last sixty years of pop and rock music icons. Rock music is visceral. It’s always been about rebelliousness and shock value and you can see it straight through to today. In the ’50s, parents hated Elvis. He was rebellious and some said androgynous with his ‘long hair’. He blurred racial lines – a white man that sounds like a black man singing songs that were first released as ‘race’ records.
How do you top Elvis? Jim Morrison, the Pied Piper of a stoned hippy generation, part poet, part hypnotist, son of a US Navy rear-admiral, once arrested for masturbating on stage. How do you beat that? The Sex Pistols. Who’ll forget them chasing the Queen’s boat down the Thames while blasting out their totally sarcastic, F-U version of “God Save the Queen!” And if Elvis was androgynous, what was Boy George then? But the ultimate parents’ nightmare? That award has to go to Marilyn Manson. Six of his albums all went Top 10. His biggest selling release? Anti-Christ Superstar. Shocking.
Need I say more?
Two lessons that business owners and entrepreneurs can take away from this lesson:
The world is your oyster. The movie, Field of Dreams, teaches a philosophy summarized as “If you build it, he will come”. Who would put a baseball diamond in the corn fields? Someone who knows that there is a promise yet to be delivered if he does. It starts with your vision. Follow it!
Be bold. The celebrity musicians I gave examples were all bold for their times. In every era, they attracted some people, and others rejected them. That’s perfectly alright. Unless we do things that create polarity, our tribe can’t find us. Fly your flag high!
In a market, cluttered with me-too brands and mediocrity, your success begins with taking a self-confident, unique position that helps your tribe discover you. They are out there. Let them know you are, too!
Watch Seth Godin’s TedX presentation as he explains Purple Cows and why you need to find a unique way to reach your market!
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You can start creating, or refining your branding efforts today. Click over to our Contact Us page and send us an email, or call Joe Hines at 714-872-0561.