23 Apr The power of perspective
Something which I find fascinating in life is the way that you can have two people who experience the exact same thing and yet, both will come out of it with two entirely different interpretations. See, everything that happens in our lives will be perceived through our own lens, a lens which is clouded by our individual histories and knowledge.
This is the same in the world of business. No matter what industry you’re in, your biz will have formed as a result of your interpretation of the market and your experience with it. It doesn’t matter if your creation has never been seen before or, if you’ve found a way to improve on an existing offering. Your place in the market must be consistently unique and authentic for you to stand out from the competition.
Now, if that sounds like an impossible feat. I challenge you to look at these brands that have done exactly that. They’ve elbowed in on a previously comfortable market and given it an almighty shake up. With their unique perspective they’ve found a way to improve on an offering which had become so familiar to the public, we’d never dreamed it could be done any other way. And, despite meeting initial resistance as a result, they remained true to their idea and perspective. Check them out!
Uber – up until 2009, if you needed to get somewhere and didn’t want to drive or it was too far to walk or ride your bike, you took public transport or, you took a taxi. That’s just how it was done, and with the exception of a few innovative people, we never thought it would be any other way. Until there was Uber. Suddenly you could order your transport using an app in your phone, you could rate and review the service you received and, if you wanted to earn some extra money, you could even drive for Uber yourself. Now that this multinational business has expanded to include meal delivery, rideshare, carpooling, and electric bikes and scooters, it’s fair to say that their unique perspective ad subsequent brand identity has fulfilled a need that we didn’t know we had.
AirBnB – just like the taxi industry mentioned above, the travel industry had been functioning in the same way for as long most of us can remember. If you were to go on a holiday, you had to book a room at a hotel or a resort, unless you were lucky enough to have family or friends in exotic locations willing to host you for a night or more. Realising that many people wanted to do their holidays differently, AirBnB came along and changed the travel industry, giving holiday makers infinitely more options. AirBnB has allowed people to become hosts and open up their homes, or even just a portion of their home, to others looking for a place to stay. This has made it possible for those wishing to travel to choose whether to stay in a house, an apartment, a granny flat or, the more traditional hotel room.
Good Pair Days – yes, these guys sell wine and yes, they deliver it to your door. Although this is a business model we’ve seen many times, the team at Good Pair Days have set out to make good wine and wine knowledge more accessible to all. Realising that it’s not easy to discover the type of wine which you love or to appreciate the nuance of pairing food with wine, this is a clever business who will guide you through your wine discovery. They get to know your taste and preferences by asking you a few questions and, with that information, they’ll send you wines, some information about your personalised selections and recommendations for what to eat while you imbibe. And, because it’s delivered to your door, you can do all this learning from the comfort of your own home!
If these awesome businesses have inspired you to secure your unique foothold in your industry, I think you’d love to have a look at a little something I’ve put together.
The Essential Branding Workbook > is the ultimate resource to enable you to nail down exactly who your business is, what it is you stand for and who you’re here to help. It covers absolutely EVERYTHING you should know to ensure your business branding is on point.
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