Way back in the 1960s, longshoreman, author and philosopher Eric
Hoffer wrote, “When people
are free to do as they please, they usually imitate
each other.”
Youngme Moon |
We see this phenomenon every day in the business world, where
companies compete by copying products — adding some minor feature or
performance boost in the name of differentiation.
The same holds true in public relations, where one agency’s
services — even in specialized areas such as telecom PR or tech PR
– sound much the same as all the rest.
Companies that fall into this trap aren’t competing at all.
They’re collapsing into each other and becoming more alike, making it all the
harder for customers to make a buying decision based on distinct value.
Decades later, in her best-selling Different, Harvard luminary Dr. Youngme Moon describes the trend of
me-tooing as “the artful packaging of meaningless distinctions as true
differentiation.” Free to do as they please, competitors make their products
more alike. The few that stand out are always true to what Dr. Moon calls their
“meaningful groove of separation.”
The groove runs deep, never just on the surface. Think of the
groove as a life decision, versus a New Year’s resolution.
This time of year, many feel compelled to make resolutions that
will improve their lot. At the individual level, those who have followed the
norm and gained one pound per year since their 20s suddenly resolve to go on
crash diets, take up jogging or free weights, and eat more sensibly — all
worthy goals.
Many companies follow a similar practice via elaborate planning
processes designed to transform the business. They, too, want to trim fat and
make the company fit to move in new directions — once again, all admirable.
But how much of it sticks? Whether at the personal or corporate
level, most backslide to their old habits in short order. That’s a rut, not a
groove.
Market leaders understand the difference. They know “the rules”
of the norm well enough to break them. They’re fit for life, not merely for the
brief span of a New Year’s resolution or annual corporate planning process.
They have the vision to drive the business over new horizons to the golden land
of constantly renewed brand differentiation. That’s their groove.
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