Imagine that every Thursday morning you take your suits to the dry cleaners. The main benefit of the dry cleaner you use is that it is on the way to work.

The dry cleaner is good. For the time that you’ve been using them, they’ve never lost, damaged, or ruined an item. Their price is reasonable. Their customer service is friendly.

All in all, a good business that gets the job done. If you rated them on Yelp, maybe you’d give them four out of five stars. Not exceptional. Not excellent. Simply good.

Now, imagine that someone opens up a dry cleaners in an even more convenient location, closer to your house. This dry cleaners is more or less exactly the same quality as your usual dry cleaners.

How long would your loyalty last?

I’m guessing probably about as long as it takes to realize you can save a few minutes on your commute with no down side.

The problem with being good is that there are hundreds–even thousands–of businesses out there that are also good.

To your customers, it makes exactly no difference.

People chop and change all the time for petty or insignificant reasons. Or maybe no reason at all.

If you’re simply good, what’s stopping them from going down the street?

Nothing.

So, what can you do to stop them from going to someone else?

Easy: Be remarkable.

Worthy of Remark

Do you know what the word remarkable means?

It means “worthy of remark”.

That is, it’s something that gets people talking.

If you go to your local coffee shop and you get a good coffee, that’s not remarkable. You could probably go to any one of a dozen or so cafes nearby and also get a good coffee.

You’re probably not going to go out of your way to tell a friend or write a review online.

But, say you went in to the same coffee shop and they were selling “cereal milk lattes,” where the barista will pour your favorite cereal on top of your coffee for an additional 30c.

It may sound bizarre. You may not want to try it. You may even think it sounds disgusting. But you’re probably going to mention it to your partner or coworker.

Why?

It’s remarkable.

Figuring Out What Makes You Remarkable

Right now, you might be struggling to think of something that makes you remarkable.

Your products might not be remarkable, and that’s okay. They don’t always have to be.

It could be something about your brand or even something about your customer service that’s remarkable.

It could be your mission or your purpose that makes you different.

It could be something you specialize in.

If you really can’t think of anything, ask your customers.

What do your most loyal customers say about your business? Why do they keep coming back? In their eyes, what sets you apart from the competition?

Embrace Your Difference

Many businesses are content to maintain the status quo. They play it safe and just try to offer a good product or service like everyone else.

That’s fine. But it’s also a massive opportunity for those who are willing to be step up and be remarkable.

When you uncover your own remarkable quality, bottle it and yell it from the rooftops.

Don’t try to conform.

Don’t hide it.

Embrace it.

The more it gets people talking, the better.

For more powerful business advice, tune in to my interview with marketing legend Jay Abraham on the Get Yourself Optimized podcast. 

Photo by Daniel Reche from Pexels