Why do Clients Refuse to be Unique?

I’m always surprised when I come across clients that want to just be normal.  I own a branding agency, so it’s kinda my duty to make you NOT NORMAL.  And yet time after time I’m confronted with the same fear…the fear of being unique.

The essence of a normal brand is the status quo, being just like everyone else—in how we look, what we offer, what we post, in who we hire, what we spend our budget on, where we prospect for leads, what we do for fun around the office. Being normal is safe. And easy. It doesn’t require much work or effort or change on our part. But it always leads to mediocrity.

Financially, the biggest problem with mediocrity is that it creates competition.  Since most people don’t want to ruffle feathers and stay status quo, these companies all end up looking the same in our eyes.  To us, they are competitors forcing us to make a choice.

Competition is good.  But having a monopoly is even better!

Think about it.  If I am the ONLY person in the world selling this product or service, I can charge more and make a ton more profit.  I’m unique, memorable and highly shareable simply because I’m the only one doing it.

Apple is a monopoly.  Yes, there are other phone companies, but Apple has carved out their own unique world and are living in their own monopoly.

If I strive to be just like everyone else, I never have a chance to be a special branding agency. When I start to embrace and even celebrate how special and different God made me, I can begin to do extraordinary things in and through my products and services. I can begin to see myself through His eyes. I can begin to live in the uniqueness with which me and my company were created. I can be motivated and inspired to go against the grain of the marketplace.

What does that mean? When everyone around me is being a generalist and trying to be a jack of all trades, I niche and double niche. When other agencies around me confirm to the normal way of doing a project, I’m trying to innovate new methods.

Going against the norm means having a different outlook on business than others. When everyone around me is working eighty hours a week so they can one day retire and start enjoying life, I’m cutting my hours by increasing my efficiency so I can spend time with my son this morning at the park. And instead of keeping up with the business Joneses, I can be grateful for what I have right now.