How To Set Yourself Apart From the Crowd

In business, sometimes setting yourself apart from the crowd is the hardest thing to do and the largest barrier between your business and the success you want. Trust me, I know. I’m a criminal attorney. In Seattle, where I practice, a Google search returns 10,049 results! That is a lot of competition.

And the thing is, if you look at many of their websites and marketing materials, they all say the same thing. “We’re experienced and dedicated to you,” and blah blah blah. In a sea of ten thousand choices all saying the same thing, probably the most important thing you can do is find out how not to be like everyone else. Sure, some of them are successful, but usually it’s what makes a business not like their competitors that creates that success.

So, what can you do to set yourself apart from the crowd? Here are a couple of ideas.

First, don’t be afraid to target a specific market (your market) and piss everyone else off. For example, as I mentioned, I’m a DUI attorney in Seattle. One of my marketing messages is that I really don’t care what you’ve done, whether or not you are innocent, or what the evidence against you is. My job, as I see it, is to get you the least amount of punishment possible, including, if available, dismissal of the charges.

Some people don’t like that message. Some people hate it. But not a lot of people are saying it. And at its core that’s what I do. So why not sell myself as the person that can and will offer these services? The people that are pissed off about me saying this aren’t charged with crimes – they aren’t my customers.

Second, don’t be afraid to use novel approaches to marketing your services. Sometimes getting in front of your target audience is all it takes to put you ahead of the curve. For example, I regularly put on free presentations about how to deal with cops. It’s simple, straightforward, and provides information almost everyone needs to hear. And, in the process, I get the attention of a group of people for upwards of an hour and I get to show them that I know what I’m talking about and I can take care of them if they need help.

Don’t be afraid to be different from everyone in your industry. Give your customers what they want, get out in front of them, and in no time you’ll be the success you always wanted to be.