View Youtube By Sabrina Risley
 Leave a comment on our BLOG

What do companies like Starbucks, JetBlue, Krispy Kreme and Apple all have in common?  They are Purple Cows.  They are the trailblazers in their industry, pioneering their new and innovative product(s) or approach.  In his book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable, marketing guru and best-selling author, Seth Godin argues that no matter how many marketing dollars you throw at your business, it is wasteful spending if your company isn’t unique, memorable, worth talking about, phenomenal, or just down-right remarkable in the first place.  Be the purple cow amidst a field of brown cows or risk being ordinary, invisible and left behind.

So where do you start as you embark on this idea of “reinventing” your business and becoming a purple cow?  First, I highly recommend you read the book Purple Cow.  It’s an easy and entertaining read, with practical examples and stories.  In the meantime, start with these 3 considerations, loaded with questions to get you thinking.

Go From Good to Remarkable.  These days, even being “very good,” is ordinary.  What would it take to turn your very good widget into an extraordinary widget?  What can you do to trigger a bit of controversy or teeter on the edge of outrageous?  What can you do to increase your “gossipability” factor?  Push the limits to make your widget the tallest or shortest, the biggest or smallest, the most expensive or the most affordable.

Reflect on Suggestions, Recommendations and Complaints.  When someone provides you with a suggestion, if your inclination is to brush it off, then STOP… that is the very suggestion to which you need to pay the most attention.  An outside perspective might be just what you need to go from very good to remarkable.  What are some of the recommendations you’ve rejected as too far-fetched?   Fetch them for reconsideration.  Is there a gap you can fill between what consumers are receiving as compared to what they really want?  What would make their life easier?  What is missing from what your widget provides today?   What can you add (or take away) that would cause your raving fans to boast even more?  What can be done to address complaints you’ve received?  Consider the one risky suggestion you could implement that would yield a better widget.

Dare to Compare. In order to stand out from the crowded marketplace, you need to deviate from the norm.   What is your competition doing and can you do the opposite?  What would you change about what market leaders are doing to make your widget more remarkable?   Is there a different niche or target market you can serve?  Think about noteworthy widgets in your market.  What can you do to take it to the next, or at least a different level?

With competition fierce and more companies than you care to think about vying for consumer spending dollars, you really need set yourself apart.  Following the mold that  everyone else is “doing it this way” or that you have always “done it this way” is not going to increase your “gossipability” factor.  Be that purple cow in the pasture with the ordinary brown cows and stand out as something worth talking about.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety and include the information below with live link back to this article.  Thank you.

Sabrina Risley founded Behind The Moon, Inc.® in 2003, a Colorado-based networking organization that sets itself apart with its motto “grow your business by helping others grow theirs.” Behind The Moon offers several networking events across Colorado’s Front Range that attract professionals who network to give rather than get. You will find Sabrina speaking to audiences about effective networking techniques, the power of partnerships, and principles of service and giving as a means to grow a business. Sign up for Sabrina’s free report, Networking For Success at http://www.behindthemooninc.com/index.php/free-report.