Business is pretty easy really, don’t be boring, don’t be rude, give to get.

I know lots of business owners that almost get this, they’re some of the most kindhearted, giving souls you will ever meet. But, man are they boring. Well, they might not be personally boring, say at a cocktail party, but their businesses, products, services, processes, messages, and markets are terribly, unremarkably boring.

This isn’t the slam that it might come across as; it’s simply an observation of the human condition. We don’t like to be different. We like to fit in, you know, do what the rest of the kids think of as normal – and it’s costing us a fortune!

See, prospects need to understand how one business is different from another, if they can’t tell, if you aren’t dripping in valuable differentiation, they will default to the only thing they can measure - price. If “how much” is one of the first questions you get, you’ve got a problem.

When you can find a way to clearly differentiate your business from every other business that says they do what you do, and that difference is so remarkably valuable that people feel compelled to talk about it, then you’ve not only got a competitive advantage, you’ve got the magic recipe for a profitable business. When you stand out - people expect to pay a premium for your products and services.

There are many ways to be remarkable and few of them have anything to do with the creation of some new product or service.

Remarkable Habits - Return phone calls, write hand-written notes, send flowers for no reason.

Remarkable Markets - Focus in on very narrow niche marketing. Be the financial planner for recently divorced women.

Remarkable Service - Give more than you promise. I don’t mean effort, I mean really give something extra. When they buy product A, ship product B as a gift surprise.

Remarkable Marketing - Offer outrageous guarantees, charge for results, position your message in direct opposition to the rest of the market.

Being remarkable, by the way, isn’t that tough for most industries, because there’s little competition in the standing out game.