I had a shop owner once call me and say “Rre Binns, why do you only provide advice to the big guys? What about us who are so disadvantaged? We have little extra funds for large advertising campaigns. My store is in an industrial area as I cannot afford to be in those expensive malls. What can I possibly do to compete?” He is right. We do tend to focus on the grander issues and the bigger brands. But this is not to say we don't have a view or two for the smaller organisations...I recently read an interesting book called “The Freak Factor” by David J. Rendall. I was prompted to read his book having seen him live at an Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO) talk, then later on a TEDTalk YouTube piece. He was great on many fronts, but greatest at reminding me why I love the field that I am in. Professionals in my profession should be masters at guiding, messaging and directing our clients’ brands from being the run-of-the-mill, stereotypical white sheep in the proverbial flock into the uniquely elusive black sheep of the flock! Or, put in another way, our job is to keep their brands clearly differentiated from the rest of their competition.Now, Mr. David Rendall has a theory that resonates with this role we play. To build on his theory, he shares a few facts about himself; facts that, for most of us, are sad and appear terribly disadvantageous. To start off with, David is a self-professed sufferer of Attention Deficit Disorder, commonly known as ADD. We have heard a lot about this from teachers, often describing a child suffering from ADD as having trouble getting to “sit down, be quiet and pay attention.” Typically, the result is a doctor is called to assess the said child. The outcome is often some form of corrective medication to ‘fix’ said child..David argues that, although this was clearly a disadvantage to him as a child, looking back at it today, perhaps this “disadvantage” was in fact his advantage. Instead of conforming, he carried on “not sitting down, not being quiet and not always paying attention.”The result?He never really fitted in. But if you look at his life today, that is exactly what he is still doing and now people cannot get enough of him. What is it they say? “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” David makes his living as a professional speaker; in order to stay fresh, he cannot speak about the same things over and over again. He’s got to keep it interesting. As an adult his “advantage” was his “disadvantage” as a child. His ADD is what keeps him on stage!He gives another example: he broke his left arm as a child. The result is that he cannot rotate his left hand to have his palm face up. So, at a drive-thru, he cannot reach out to collect the change (remember, in the USA, the driver sits on the left side of the car.) When in England, however, the driver sits on the right hand side (just like us in Southern Africa) and there he can reach out and have the change rest on his outstretched hand palm side up. What is the point here? Well, what appears as his disadvantage in one setting could become his advantage in another. He is the same person just approaching the challenge from a different perspective.I suspect that you can see the clear link between these two examples and what brands should constantly strive to do – differentiate. Big or small, all brands and businesses need to embrace that oddity and use that to their advantage. This is their holy grail. If a brand can stand out in a sea of sameness, then it has a chance to offer its products/services for sales and repeat business.The advice I give is this: do not be afraid of your perceived “weaknesses.” Find ways to use them to your advantage. If your store is in an industrial location and you therefore find it difficult to attract consumers otherwise drawn to the big shopping centres, consider the advantages you do have and maximise these. For instance, in an industrial area you do not have as many competitors, so once you have your client out there, you have their attention. Parking and long walking distances to shops is a disadvantage of malls that you can maximise on. You will probably have more shopping space, as the rentals will be less, thus you can display more, and you can entertain more. These are just a few advantages that may have previously been masquerading as disadvantages.There are many opportunities to stand out and attract if you would only explore a little more. Find the “Freak Factor” in your business and use it to your advantage!What’s your freaky exploitation of a disadvantage?
I had a shop owner once call me and say “Rre Binns, why do you only provide advice to the big guys? What about us who are so disadvantaged? We have little extra funds for large advertising campaigns. My store is in an industrial area as I cannot afford to be in those expensive malls. What can I possibly do to compete?” He is right. We do tend to focus on the grander issues and the bigger brands. But this is not to say we don't have a view or two for the smaller organisations...I recently read an interesting book called “The Freak Factor” by David J. Rendall. I was prompted to read his book having seen him live at an Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO) talk, then later on a TEDTalk YouTube piece. He was great on many fronts, but greatest at reminding me why I love the field that I am in. Professionals in my profession should be masters at guiding, messaging and directing our clients’ brands from being the run-of-the-mill, stereotypical white sheep in the proverbial flock into the uniquely elusive black sheep of the flock! Or, put in another way, our job is to keep their brands clearly differentiated from the rest of their competition.Now, Mr. David Rendall has a theory that resonates with this role we play. To build on his theory, he shares a few facts about himself; facts that, for most of us, are sad and appear terribly disadvantageous. To start off with, David is a self-professed sufferer of Attention Deficit Disorder, commonly known as ADD. We have heard a lot about this from teachers, often describing a child suffering from ADD as having trouble getting to “sit down, be quiet and pay attention.” Typically, the result is a doctor is called to assess the said child. The outcome is often some form of corrective medication to ‘fix’ said child..David argues that, although this was clearly a disadvantage to him as a child, looking back at it today, perhaps this “disadvantage” was in fact his advantage. Instead of conforming, he carried on “not sitting down, not being quiet and not always paying attention.”The result?He never really fitted in. But if you look at his life today, that is exactly what he is still doing and now people cannot get enough of him. What is it they say? “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” David makes his living as a professional speaker; in order to stay fresh, he cannot speak about the same things over and over again. He’s got to keep it interesting. As an adult his “advantage” was his “disadvantage” as a child. His ADD is what keeps him on stage!He gives another example: he broke his left arm as a child. The result is that he cannot rotate his left hand to have his palm face up. So, at a drive-thru, he cannot reach out to collect the change (remember, in the USA, the driver sits on the left side of the car.) When in England, however, the driver sits on the right hand side (just like us in Southern Africa) and there he can reach out and have the change rest on his outstretched hand palm side up. What is the point here? Well, what appears as his disadvantage in one setting could become his advantage in another. He is the same person just approaching the challenge from a different perspective.I suspect that you can see the clear link between these two examples and what brands should constantly strive to do – differentiate. Big or small, all brands and businesses need to embrace that oddity and use that to their advantage. This is their holy grail. If a brand can stand out in a sea of sameness, then it has a chance to offer its products/services for sales and repeat business.The advice I give is this: do not be afraid of your perceived “weaknesses.” Find ways to use them to your advantage. If your store is in an industrial location and you therefore find it difficult to attract consumers otherwise drawn to the big shopping centres, consider the advantages you do have and maximise these. For instance, in an industrial area you do not have as many competitors, so once you have your client out there, you have their attention. Parking and long walking distances to shops is a disadvantage of malls that you can maximise on. You will probably have more shopping space, as the rentals will be less, thus you can display more, and you can entertain more. These are just a few advantages that may have previously been masquerading as disadvantages.There are many opportunities to stand out and attract if you would only explore a little more. Find the “Freak Factor” in your business and use it to your advantage!What’s your freaky exploitation of a disadvantage?
