(Time to read this Blog is about 3 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “Whatever product or service you sell, people come to you for that…plus joy!
    
   When there too many other people selling what you sell and you all look alike, sound alike and charge about the same price, ‘joy’ could be your sustainable competitive advantage.”
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   How much time do you spend listening to your Team?

   Your people know stuff and they hate it when you don’t ask.  When you don’t ask them for their thoughts and ideas, they assume that you don’t care.  And, if you don’t care, why should they?

   So, at least twice a year, ask every member of your Team for their ideas on how, together, we can make this a better business for our customers, for our Team, for the community and the planet?  Also, ask them how we can operate more efficiently.

   Don’t ambush them with these questions and expect an immediate answer.  Give them a week’s advance notice to come up with their ideas.
    

3. Canada is the safest place to travel. Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection just published its ‘Safest Destinations Report’. Canada is rated as the #1 safest place to travel.  Switzerland is #2 and Norway is #3.
    
4. Canada’s defence spending needs to double. Ottawa will have to nearly double its annual military spending to $81.9 billion if it’s going to fulfil its pledge to meet NATO’s defence spending target by 2032. Canada is one of the only NATO countries without a Plan to meet the alliance’s spending commitment.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

What’s the ‘BIG IDEA’ in your business?

Every market and every industry is over-served and under-differentiated. Whatever product or service you sell, there are too many other people selling it and you all look pretty much alike, sound alike and charge about the same price.

The solution. Your business needs a ‘BIG IDEA’ that:

1. ‘Grabs’ your target customers.
2. Clearly differentiates you from your competitors.
3. Focuses your staff.
4. Frustrates your competitors.
5. Makes you ‘famous’.
6. Grows your bottom line.

What will be the ‘BIG IDEA’ in your business that clearly sets you apart and grows your bottom line?  Will it be your uncompromising quality, innovative design, large or small selection, high or low price, your speed, your expert knowledge, your technology, your personal and joyful service, convenience or, perhaps, the famous people who do business with you?

Then, how will you communicate your ‘BIG IDEA’.  There’s no point being the best if you’re also the best kept secret.

Bruce Urban at Western RV in Edmonton, Alberta, built an RV empire on a ‘BIG IDEA’,  “I’ll pay for your flight, hotel and limo, if you come to Edmonton to see my RVs.”   That’s gutsy.  Remember, ‘Advertising is creative bragging’ and first you get good…and then you brag!  Don’t brag and then try to figure out how you’re going to pull it off.  That will end badly!

Boston Whaler, came up with a ‘BIG IDEA’. The boat maker redesigned and reingineered how a boat is manufactured.  They came up with a double fiberglass hull with rigid closed-cell foam in between.  Then, they came up with the clever slogan, “The Unsinkable Ledgend”.  And they sell a lot of boats at premium prices. 

How do they promote their ‘unsinkable’ boats?  They drive one of them into a busy marina, cut off the front of the boat with a chain saw and drive around safely. That gets your attention.

In my days as a fashion retailer, we became famous for inviting our customers to, “Please take as many items in the change room as you wish.”  No other fashion store in the world had the guts to do this.  The all had offensive signs that said, ‘Limit 3 items in the change room.”   We also offered free hot and cold drinks, electric massage chairs for husbands, a Pirate Ship Play Area for kids, and change tables with free diapers, wipes and cream in the customer washrooms.

We offered awesome merchandise at honest savings and our staff were not on commission.  In fact, a huge sign just inside our front door announced, “Our staff are NOT on commission.  They treat you this well because they love what they do!”   Women hate pushy commissioned sales people, so we dealt with that.   Our customers said cool things like, “It’s amazing, you’ve thought of everything!”  Have you thought of everything?

These were the ‘BIG IDEAS’ that made us famous.  Women drove for hours to shop with us, the media talked about us over and over…and our sales were three times the national average.  To be extraordinary takes insight, creativity and courage.

There’s lots of talk in business today about creativity and innovation.  But nobody talks much about ‘courage’.  There’s no point being creative if we’re not also courageous, because without courage we’ll never have the guts to implement the cool creative stuff that we come up with.

So, whats the ‘BIG IDEA’ in your business?  What do you do that ‘grabs’ your target customers, clearly differentiates you from your competitors, makes you famous…and grows your bottom line?  And, if you don’t have a ‘BIG IDEA’ yet, when will you start?  Mediocrity is no longer an option.

To help get you started, Click Here to download my Biz Tool #B-11, ‘What Are We Famous For?’, no charge.

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.