Aug
2
Being Irreplaceable Means Being Different
I took a vacation to the Central Coast of California, and on the way down from Mt. Shasta, stopped in San Francisco for the night. I had booked a hotel in South San Francisco because it was that much closer to my Day 2 destination of Santa Cruz. Due to its close proximity to the airport and myriad corporate office parks, I wasn't expecting much more than a place to sleep.
The minute I walked in to The Inn at Oyster Point, my low expectations were blown out the window. I was totally impressed with the crazy, fun and irreverent mish-mash design aesthetic, pop-art laden walls, community iMac (what can I say, I'm a Mac, not a PC) in the lobby and friendly, attentive service by the attendant who called my by name for the remainder of my visit.
This was Eclectic Boutique Hotel at its best. After some research, I discovered that the Contemporary-Victorian-Asian-Pop Art aesthetic was by San Francisco based designer, Andrew Alford. Everything about The Inn at Oyster Point shouted unique, non-conformist, fearless and bold - which is what every strong brand should aim for. Even though I was on vacation, I had to shoot an impromptu video because the strength of their brand really resonated with me, and I knew it would make for an educational and inspiring post.
In their printed collateral, the Inn at Oyster Point had a few great quotes. I'll share them with you here, because they deserve to be pondered. The statements that follow the quotes are my own:
"Always put in one controversial item. It makes people talk."
You've probably heard the saying that any publicity is good publicity, and, while that's far from true, you DO want people talking about your brand. Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get, but you want the buzz to be positive. So far, I've created a video blog post about the hotel, tweeted about it and plugged it on Facebook, all because I was so pleasantly surprised by my experience. I'm probably not the only one organically promoting them either, which is exactly the kind of response you want your brand to generate.
"Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn't be done."
Many people work so hard to find reasons why they CAN'T do something. Instead, they should be putting an extraordinary amount of energy into figuring out how they CAN do it. That's the difference between Winners and Losers, Leaders and Followers, Innovators and Imitators. Which of these do you aspire to be?
"In order to be Irreplaceable, one must always be different."
This is the main message of the above video. There are many business categories that seem to be governed by rules that say, "You Must Do It This Way." This leads to a glut of unremarkable companies and products that all look and feel similar.
Branding is based on the idea of singularity, which means you create a perception that there is no other business or product like yours. To do this successfully, you must think outside the box - regardless of the business category you are in - and you must define and articulate the unique value your company provides. Only then, will you be irreplaceable. Otherwise, you're just another commodity competing on price and convenience.
Right across the way from The Inn at Oyster Point, there is a Marriot Hotel. While the Marriot has a fine, upstanding brand and offers a superb hotel experience, they could easily be replaced by a half dozen other brand name hotels. The Inn at Oyster Point, on the other hand, has created a one-of-a-kind experience that differentiates themselves just enough to be irreplaceable. Next time I'm in the area, there is no questions as to where I will stay.
What are you doing to make YOUR company irreplaceable?
***
Heavyweight Marketing Champion, Nikolas Allen, runs BAM! Small Biz Consulting, where he helps small business owners attract more loyal customers and grow their business through creative branding and marketing strategies.
If you're ready to step in the ring with BAM!, contact Nikolas Allen for your FREE 30-Minute Needs Assessment. Phone: (530) 859-5454 • Email: bamsbc@gmail.com
