Act Like Number One
April 14, 2009
If you’re going to be a leading company in any industry, you need to start acting like #1, even if you are #151. In today’s market, even being number two is just not good enough.
Almost anyone can tell you who the world’s richest man is – Bill Gates. But when asked who numbers two, three and four are, people get confused. The reason is simply that number one garners all the attention, while number two (in this case the great Warren Buffet) gets easily swept aside from our attention.
Who Loves #1? Everyone!
Everybody that interacts with your business loves number one.
Customers make product choices all day long based on number one status. Think about how you make those very same choices in your everyday life. Imagine you are suffering from a terrible cold and walk into the pharmacy to get some cold medicine. You stand in front of two medicines that both effectively treat colds – the “leading national brand” and the “generic store brand”. Even though the leading brand costs three times as much as the generic you find yourself walking to the counter with the leading brand. You believe that number one is better even though you (and the FDA) are pretty sure they do the same thing.
Your customers aren’t the only people fascinated with number one. Investors are equally enthusiastic about #1 companies because they carry an air of legitimacy and success about them. Positioning a company to make more money as number one is much easier than trying to bring number thirteen to the top spot.
And don’t forget the media. The media is in the business of getting customer’s and investor’s attention. Number two products don’t get anyone’s attention unless they are unseating number one products.
Make Yourself #1
So you’re not number one in your category you say?
No problem – just invent a new category!
As a startup company being number one may seem like a contradiction. How can you be number one in any category if you just started your company? At Swapalease.com we were a small company just entering the automotive market. So how did we dominate our space? We invented a new category - lease transfer - and built our reputation as “America’s Number One Lease Transfer Marketplace”. We were number one because no one else at the time was in our market!
Just about any category can be sub-divided into a position that makes you the “market leader,” so use some creativity to claim your territory. This is a simple but effective tactic to begin building your brand and your sales presentation and it’s truly powerful in the minds of consumers.
Even though Warren Buffet isn’t the world’s richest man, he is certainly the world’s oldest richest man. It doesn’t take much to differentiate him and still provide a legitimate number one status.
You can get too granular here, so let me warn you. Telling the world that you are the number one realtor on upper Main Street that sells white houses probably isn’t going to attract the number one status you desire. But telling people that you sell houses faster than your bigger competitors (even if you sell far fewer houses) may get the type of number one status that brings you more customers. Your approach makes all the difference.
Your customers will respond much more positively to your number one status if it is properly placed in the context of their needs. Think about what they want you to be number one for and focus your brand there.
“Woo-hoo! I’m Number One! Now what?”
Great, you’ve just promoted yourself from “aspiring startup” to “industry leader”. Not bad for five minutes worth of effort. Now let’s talk about what to do with your newfound status.
Remember when you were convincing yourself to buy that overpriced cold medicine in the pharmacy? How did you know that the leading brand actually was the leading brand? You knew because they told you they were – all the time – whether you wanted to hear it or not. You heard it on radio commercials, watched it on TV, and of course read the brilliantly colored statement on the otherwise generic box. In short – because they told you over and over.
If you’re going to be treated like number one, you need to act like number one and pound your chest about it. Announce your number one status on every last piece of sales and marketing collateral that you own. Get used to giving your elevator pitch with the opening line “we are the largest stainless steel provider in Central Ohio” at every chance you get. Live your number one status in every aspect of your business.
After all, if you don’t claim your number one status your competition will.