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First Best or Different: A Business Management Article by Charles Marshall
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First, best or different
Frank sits in his office and sullenly stares across the road at his
competition. A continuous line of cars streams in and out of his competitor’s
parking lot.
“They certainly don’t seem to be hurting for business,” he says to an
empty room. Meanwhile, the clock ticks, the afternoon winds on and Frank isn’t
able to land even one sale.
“Where did I go wrong?” he wonders. He has a good location, a good
product and a good business plan. What else could there be?
The answer might be found in a conversation I had several years ago. I was
having lunch with a professional musician as he bemoaned the fact that, although
he had scored several songs on Billboard’s Top 40 list in his category, he had
never managed to obtain a national number one hit. Bellyaching amongst
disappointed musicians is definitely not a rarity. What made his complaint
unique was that he knew exactly why he had failed.
“To make it in this business,” he said, “you need to be one of three
different things — first, best or different.”
Since that conversation, I’ve come to realize that law applies to
every
business. Any success story you can name is a product
of that law.
Elvis was a first. He was the first pop singer to be mass-marketed in his
genre. He didn’t invent his style of music. He wasn’t necessarily even the
best. He (and his management) just beat everyone else in presenting that style
to the world in an attractive, marketable package.
Henry Ford didn’t invent the automobile. He was just the first to apply
the assembly line technique in manufacturing them. Did he make the best car?
No, he just leapt to the front of the line by thinking more progressively than
his competition.
Sam Walton certainly didn’t invent discount retailing nor was he the first
to build a chain of stores. What he accomplished was doing “retail” better than
anyone else. I believe the burning question that consumed him was, “How can my
stores be better?” He pursued that question until he decimated all his
competitors and established his business as the undisputed best.
Gary Larson didn’t invent the one-panel cartoon nor was he the best
artist. He did present, however, a product so unique and off-the-wall that in a
very short amount of time everyone was discussing their favorite Farside cartoon
at the water cooler and imitators were springing up by the dozens.
While meeting one of these criteria is good, meeting all of them is
better. The folks at Chick-fil-A invented “different” and will tell you so.
Being the first to serve the chicken sandwich in a fast-food format, they
captured an extremely unique niche in their market. In addition to being first
and different, their culture of excellence has established them as a model of
quality.
What sets your business apart from the rest? How can you present your
business to the world in a way that establishes you as first, best or
different? Apply your efforts to creating a product or service that
distinguishes itself so you are undeniably known as first, best or different.
© 2004 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a motivational speaker, motivational author and president of M Power Resources, LLC. Visit his Web site at www.MPowerResources.com or contact him via e-mail at charles@MPowerResources.com.
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