There are some products I won’t go flavorite on. Originality speaks to me much louder than a price tag.
Flavorite: (Fla vor- ite.) The ‘store-brand’ equivalent of another product. A brand.
It’s simple, your clients will choose the Flavorite version of who you are if it looks and tastes the same. How do you protect your brand in a world the cheap and trendy are so easily available?
My daughter and I were walking in the grocery store recently and she pointed to the boxed cereal and picked out her selection. She isn’t brand conscious and the difference between Cheerios and the less expensive model was unavailable to the human eye. Both had the same ingredients, the same idea; (rounded, hollow circles of grain-deliciousness) and frankly- the difference in packaging was minimal. Both came in boxes. Yet, I watched as shopper after shopper chose the Cheerio brand. The name, spoke louder.
I consider competition the key to all good business. However, after recently acknowledging there is apparently another individual who’s main focus is on, “girl-geek, resume writing and copywriting and corportate branding,” I took a step back, smiled and said, “Bring it on, young skywalker. Bring it on.” After realizing that her bark was bigger than her bite and her experience and personal website just didn’t prove she knew what she did, I remarked on the cheap and trendy that seemed to be her main offering.
I discussed with friends their own experiences. One detailed that someone copied his business model to such a striking resemblance that even the wording was eerily similar, another confessed that he almost let the fears of competition knock him out of his own ballgame. In both cases, the competition was newer, younger, and ‘trendier’ than their models. Trendier, however: Doesn’t mean better.
When it comes to your business, the same mentality applies. Do you want to be good enough, or breathtakingly original? If you think that piggybacking your idea on someone else’s success is sufficient, it’s time for a reality check.
Real businesses, (the types that have lasted longer than a few years; I’v e been freelancing for 7; blogging for more,) compete with smaller-scale startups daily. Strategy separates the successful from the merely trendy. How we portray ourselves to clients and HR managers alike, will directly influence their perception of us.
My best advice? There’s no need to scream who you are if you’re living the model that your business portrays. Selling social media experience? You should have a firm handle on your craft, able to showcase without being asked. Claiming your website designs are topnotch? Make sure your links aren’t broken. Shouting that your resume-writing is killer? Don’t leave yourself dead in the water by blatantly ignoring what corporations want and insisting on 3-4 page resume documents.
“The merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity.” T. Carlyle
Preach it, Sister!