Imagine you sat down to eat a sandwich. And right in front of you were twenty three different types of ketchups.
Would you add them all in your sandwich?
Of course you wouldn’t, but the moment you get to uniqueness, that logical thought process goes out of the window. We all seem to forget that the word ‘unique’ means ONE. That your product can indeed do twenty things well, but you can’t drive home the point all at once. You are forced to sort out the one thing that is the most important.
So let’s say you were selling coffee
If you say: our coffee is unique because it helps you increase sales, do the rhumba, climb poles and do the Spiderman dance—I don’t care.
I want to hear why the coffee is unique:
– Because it comes from the heart of Bolivia
OR
– Because monkeys harvest it.
OR
– Because only 2% is available every year
OR
– Because it’s the most bitter coffee in the world.
OR
– Because you can roast it and it keeps for two weeks
OR
– Because Tarzan drinks it
OR
– Because it improves your sex life.
The way most uniqueness is written is this way:
Our coffee is unique because it comes from the heart of Bolivia, where monkeys harvest it, and therefore only 2% is available, because we only choose the most bitter coffees ever. And by the way, you can roast it and keep it for two weeks. Tarzan does it anyway, and it helps him swing trees better. It also improves his sex life and probably will do the same for yours.
If you say a ton of stuff, nothing gets across.
Say ONE thing and I get it.
Or in other words: Go easy on the ketchup!
P.S. So have you seen companies stuff their uniqueness? Have you done it yourself? Or do you have questions? Post below! 🙂
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Oh, and here’s a video about ‘stuffing’. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
P.S. Introducing the Uniqueness Mastery Home Study
The Uniqueness Mastery Home Study is a precise system that enables you to get your product or service to stand out. And not just stand out in a garish, uncomfortable way, but in a manner where the customer knows exactly why they’re choosing you over the competition. It follows a system that that shows you how to get to your uniqueness. Find out more Uniqueness Mastery Home Study
Though I would like coffee that does the rhumba 🙂
I love the ketchup analogy. Really drives home the point.
🙂
Yes great and I so get it but why am I having so much trouble defining my own business’ uniqueness??!! I can see it now in others and I absolutely get why it is SOOOO important but…
I still end up with a list of factors and can’t hone in on the one and I know I’m fluffing about until I get it!
Hi Sean, one of my clients said how Dance of Shiva helps her to “Clear her Mind” and I thought that could be the uniqueness. But I think that is one of the points that come after the uniqueness.
And so then I thought of this:
The dance of shiva shows you how to simplify complex tasks so that you can “Master Chaos.”
(Someone who can Master Chaos can handle complex tasks without breaking a sweat….)
p.s. liked the coffee examples.
made me think of another possible line:
Tarzan didn’t do the dance of shiva because he didn’t need to.
When’s the last time you swung on a rope?
or
Tarzan likes this coffee because monkeys pick it.
Very well explained!
Sean, I really admire everything you write.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks.
Awesome stuff, Sean! I’ve been working my way through your ‘Uniqueness’ videos and articles and it’s really priceless information.
Like Jane says above, it’s not so easy to make the leap from information to experience, that is, to knuckle done and pick the ONE and ONLY unique point. Like Jane, I’m finding it hard to settle on just one thing.
Each time I say to myself, “OK, I’ll pick THAT one!”, a little voice in my head starts saying, “But, but, but …” and then lists all the other ‘semi-unique’ factors I’ve omitted…
I’m curious about the mental process. I think the same process that makes picking uniqueness difficult can also hinder us when we write blog posts or articles:
When trying to write about a single topic, I often have to fight the tendency to stuff the post with other subtopics to make it ‘more valuable’.
I think that on a primeval level we don’t believe that “less is more”.
Thanks for all your wonderful material, Sean. You rock!
Yes. We believe more is more. 🙂
Mary:
Having been blessed with attending your Boot Camp, I would think it would be a cinch naming your uniqueness.
Afterall, where else is it possible to be taken by the hand by two of the most successful bloggers going – along with the other successful writers you include during the course?
It is an affordable, unique opportunity.
Maybe uniqueness is like a prime minister. He or she is the main person who gets all of the attention, but then the cabinet ministers are also important as well (and I believe the PM picks them.) So when picking uniqueness it’s like the big cheese who directs all the other cheeses.
Another thought I had was like a story with lots of sub plots. The ‘big story” holds the little ones together.
(In one of the stories I’m reading, Al Capone is one of the bad guys and he holds all of the other bad guys in check.)
Going back to the beginning you said we could play emperor and choose a Uniqueness. But you also said uniqueness should be part of our DNA, we should live it like Steve Jobs and Apple.
But also uniqueness might be something our customers give us. (Which can be really good or not so good if you don’t like the way they think of you.)
I keep thinking about Coca Cola when I watch this video. There was a time 20+ years ago when they believed that having more than 1 flavor of Coke would dilute their brand. Is that like stuffing their uniqueness?
Anyway, then came “New Coke” and “Coke Classic” and they began to realize that the brand could support many flavors and variations (Cherry, Zero, Vanilla, etc.).
Would anyone say that much of Coke’s marketing success is based on uniqueness? If it is, then do they have one uniqueness which supports all of the variations? Or, does each (successful) variant have a uniqueness of its own?
Actually Coke loses money on some brands.
Okay – so I figure each variant has its own brand and target audience. Each one stands on its own; some successful and some not.