The Road To Remarkable: 10 Steps to Standing Out

Shakespeare said “Some are born great (and) some achieve greatness…”.  The same can be said of businesses. There are those that are brilliant from the start but they’re definitely in the minority.  Others will never become great; not because they can’t but because they choose not to.  It’s the businesses in the middle, bursting with potential that excite me the most.   The problem is that many retail companies have difficulty innovating.   They often break down somewhere on the road to becoming remarkable.  Frequently all that’s needed is a creative nudge in the right direction.

There’s no patented formula for innovation but there are creative approaches to differentiating your business.  The following is a creative framework that’s part of a workshop we conduct for retailers that helps them find their mojo, if you will.

Once you’ve decided to take your store to the next level, follow these steps.  They’ll open up your thinking in several different directions and can produce surprising innovation.

1. Go Deep:  Brands are a lot like people.  Throw a cocktail party and I guarantee that by the end of the night most of your guests will remember the same people.    The people who are interesting, dynamic and deep.  Your unique business story and how you tell it can make you remarkable.  The story behind Tom’s Shoes, for example is quite amazing and draws us in as customers.
2. Go Narrow: I used to go to a restaurant in Montreal that served nothing but hot dogs, fried bologna sandwiches and fountain sodas.  Every day, from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm they had a line up out the door!  Not only did the quirky, three-item menu make them stand out, it also allowed them to focus on being awesome while offering a limited number of items.  And believe me, they were awesome.  How narrow can your offering be and would it make you stand out?
3. Go Backwards:  Explore the history of your product.  Look for intriguing methods of manufacturing or selling.  Reach as far back into the history as you can.  You might find some really interesting information along the way that you can integrate into your store experience.
4. Go Forward:  This is probably the trickiest one of all, but by using research and a little intuition you may be able to anticipate what the future of your product category holds.  Do you foresee anything unique or different happening?   Are there any trends affecting product, pricing structures, merchandising or store design?  If so, is there anything that you can leverage now?  Anything that will be unique?  For example, if you’re a book seller, you’re likely very worried about the emergence of e-books and Kindles.  So perhaps a proactive shift to carrying nothing but collectible, hard-to-find books would allow you to differentiate and carry on successfully.
5. Go Against:  Identify industry paradigms and challenge them.  If there’s an accepted standard, ask yourself if there’s merit in breaking it.  Even simple things like merchandising conventions, when turned on their ear, can be exciting.  Here’s a vitamin store in Austin Texas that looks anything but conventional.
6. Go Crazy:  Literally make a list of the craziest things you could do to make your store stand out.  Don’t just be “a little” of anything.  Be a ton of it.  If you’ve established that service is your competitive advantage then don’t just be marginally better.  Literally shame your competition.  Blow your customers away.  Become notorious for your service.  Then and only then will it be remarkable.  Jungle Jim’s Grocery in Fairfield Ohio carries 1,200 varieties of cheese.  Why?  Because they established that selection was their competitive advantage and in order for it to be remarkable, they would have to offer a selection of epic proportions.
7. Go Naked:  Before you get too excited, I mean try stripping your business concept right down to the bare essentials. Could your sales process be remarkably simple?  Could your assortment be remarkably clear?  Could your pricing be remarkably transparent?  How much excess and confusion can you take out of the value proposition?  Sometimes layers of process, protocol and paperwork get built into a business over time.  Can you simplify it and would it be remarkable if you did?
8. Go Home:  Is there a point of origin for your product category; a kind of birthplace or Mecca so to speak?  Maybe a visit to that place will avail fresh thinking that can help you differentiate.   If you sell fine china, perhaps a trip to England or Holland would get some ideas flowing.  Sometimes it’s the archaeology of things that makes them most intriguing.
9. Go Abroad:  Too often, we build businesses based on our narrow domestic understanding and sensibilities.  Starbucks took the coffee house concept that was common in Italy and imported it to the U.S. where it was unique and exciting.   Explore how your product is sold in other countries.  You might be surprised at some of the amazing concepts you could import into your business.
10. Be Relevant:  Above all else, be relevant.  Throwing a pie in the face of every customer who walks into your store would definitely be remarkable.  However, I’m guessing that it would also be irrelevant with respect to what you sell.   Your innovations should complement the experience of buying your products or services, not impede them.  Remarkable is only valuable if it’s relevant.

The most important thing for you to remember is that the distance between ordinary and extraordinary is often not as great as we fear.  They key lies in beginning the journey.