sneezr.ca

Remember the last time you walked through a city park of some kind?

Wasn’t that fun? :)

Did you maybe take a moment to sit down on a park bench and take it all in?

Whether you’re in Paris, France, or Regina, Saskatchewan, one part of the decor in city parks around the globe is usually very similar: the park benches.

Ever wondered why park benches are usually painted green or brown? The answer is simple: Because those colours blend in well with the surroundings.

You see, makers of park benches understand that their job is NOT to compete with the effortless beauty of the trees.

The park bench makers are successful to the degree that they make their product blend in with their surroundings.

Unlike park bench makers, entrepreneurs and leaders in business organizations are supposed to make their brands/services/products stand out in their surroundings.

In theory, that is.

Because, in practice, most don’t.

Secret #1: Most businesses accept the industry ‘rules’ re how their brand should look.

That’s one of the top self-inflicted injuries you can make in business. Because in doing so you become unnecessarily limited by ‘rules’ that are dated, dubious, and often 100% imaginary.

Secret #2: You don’t have to accept the industry ‘rules’ re how your brand should look.

In fact, your odds of becoming slightly famous go up after you say no to the ‘industry look.’

Case in point: Jennifer Plotnick, aka the dentist who wants your teeth to look as nice as her Instagram feed. :)

I just met Jennifer, but it seems obvious that instead of trying to trick Google or Facebook algorithms, she’s slowly building her business through a highly differentiated brand experience.

Specifically, she seems to be big on:

> internetting (e.g. her booking system is digital);
> evidence-based marketing (e.g. testimonials and pro photography are a huge part of her digital welcome mat);
> making every brand touchpoint count (e.g. the image below shows the entrance to her practice).

The next question: is the world noticing her efforts in the uber-competitive New York marketplace? The short answer: You bet!

So much so that after the folks at Wired, Forbes, and New York Magazine recently discovered her, her website has been crashing down because of the surge in traffic.

Secret #3: Your brand is as important as what you do.

Maybe it’s just me, but isn’t a big part of why Jennifer is now slightly famous due to the fact that she refused to ‘order her brand’ from the same ‘dentist-brand-supply-folks’ 99% of dentists do? :)

April 9, 2017