Dear Farillio member,

On 16th March 2021, you asked our amazing expert Louis Grenier on the Go Far Fast Show:

“I have an idea for a business but it’s not that new – just I think I can do it better. Is that enough of a USP? What sort of marketing should I do to ensure I stand out like your site says I should, where there’s already a bit of competition?”

And Louis said:

Be mighty always, Farillio

Transcript:

“That's a good sign. Differentiation is not trying to create a new category. There's so much buzz around, but it's a very rare occurrence where a company has enough of an innovative solution that they claim that a new word is needed to describe what they do. Most of the time it never really works, because changing people's minds, behaviours and making them learn a new world is just incredibly difficult. The fact that you have direct competitors already is a good sign. It means you have a category that already exists with direct competitors who are making money out of that category which is perfect. The game is to play inside that category. It's about identifying everything that this category tends to do. By listing down what your category traditionally does; the feature they offer, the behaviour, the experience, all of those angles, you'll start seeing opportunities. The key question to ask yourself is 'what can you remove?'. What can you stop doing that they're currently doing, to achieve congruence between the specific group of people you've identified and the solution you offer. By removing as much as possible you're going to shed light on the positives. That's what happens. When you remove stuff people are not going to notice this as much as they're going to notice what you actually do. And they will assume that you do it better! This is a good sign, play inside that category. Also, try to look at alternatives and companies you admire that are absolutely not in that category. Try to see their behaviour as well. What do they tend to do differently, that you could also mimic and that becomes part of your DNA? Again, you have to challenge some norms and have fun with this. Ship it to a group of people to see if they like it, and then improve it.”

Ask your question:

If you have any questions that you'd like us to ask in a future Go Far Fast Show, send us a DM on Twitter or on LinkedIn. We'd love to hear from you!

Want more from Louis?

You can also find Louis’ answers to other questions being asked by you and your community in our Dear Farillio Expert section on our blog site, and Louis’ great guidance on marketing here.

Please note: The contents of this blog are not tailored business advice or legal advice. This is guidance and information, which we do our best to keep current, relevant and helpful. If you need business or legal advice, please use our Speak To An Adviser service or you can get in touch via our LiveChat.