“與眾不同”須謹(jǐn)慎
New entrepreneurs frequently hear the advice to "be unique" in their marketing. The basic idea is a valuable one -- to get attention in a crowded marketplace, you must stand out in some way. Distinguishing your product or service from the competition can make your marketing more effective. Crafting a novel marketing message can attract the notice of more potential customers.
新的企業(yè)家經(jīng)常聽到別人建議他們?cè)谑袌?chǎng)上要與眾不同?；舅枷胧侵档每隙ǖ?，在擁擠的商場(chǎng)上引起別人的注意，你必須在某些方面特異獨(dú)行。將你的產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手區(qū)分開來的話，可以讓你的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷更有效。如果你創(chuàng)建了一個(gè)新穎的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷廣告的話，你就可以吸引更多潛在客戶的注意。
There's no question that an element of uniqueness in your marketing can make your business more memorable, competitive, and special to your target audience. These are all reasons why being different can be good. But how different should you be?
毫無疑問，如果在你的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷中有獨(dú)特的元素的話，對(duì)你的目標(biāo)客戶來說，你的產(chǎn)品就更令人難忘，有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力，更加特別。這些都是與眾不同的好處。但是你應(yīng)該怎么樣與眾不同呢？
A student in one of my classes had noticed there were no display ads for management consultants in his local Yellow Pages. "What a great opportunity," he thought, "to make my business stand out to prospective clients." He spent over $200 per month on a large ad for a full year. The result was not a single phone call, unless you count the ones from vendors trying to sell him photocopiers and phone systems.
在我?guī)У陌嗉?jí)中有個(gè)學(xué)生注意到在他當(dāng)?shù)氐狞S頁(yè)中沒有管理顧問的廣告?！斑@是一個(gè)多么好的機(jī)會(huì)?！彼氲?。“可以讓我的生意在潛在客戶中間脫穎而出?！痹诮酉聛硪荒甑臅r(shí)間里，他每個(gè)月支付200美元，在黃頁(yè)上刊登了一個(gè)求職廣告。但結(jié)果卻是除了那些想向他推銷影印機(jī)和電話系統(tǒng)的供應(yīng)商外，沒一個(gè)人給他打電話。
He had neglected to ask his consulting colleagues WHY none of them had ads in the Yellow Pages. It seemed like a good idea to him, and no one else was doing it, so he pulled out his checkbook. What never occurred to him -- and what any experienced colleague could have told him -- was that companies don't choose management consultants from ads in the phone book.
他沒有想過去問一下那些咨詢顧問的同事為什么他們沒有在黃頁(yè)上打廣告。對(duì)他來說看起來是個(gè)好主意，也沒有其他人這樣做，所以他就毫不猶豫的掏錢打廣告了。有一個(gè)他沒有經(jīng)歷過的，而任何經(jīng)歷過的同事都可以告訴他的事實(shí)，那就是公司不會(huì)從電話本廣告中招聘管理顧問。
Sometimes you can be too unique for your own good. There's a lot in sales and marketing that is tried and true. If you decide to forge a completely new trail, you may be attempting an experiment that many others in your field have already tried with no success.
有時(shí)候?yàn)榱俗约旱睦?，你可以與眾不同。在銷售和營(yíng)銷中有很多這樣的真實(shí)例子。如果你決定走一條全新的路線，你就要做好思想準(zhǔn)備，這也可能是其他人嘗試過但失敗的路線。
It's not always just your marketing techniques that are a little too different. The same problem can afflict the product or service you are marketing.
不僅僅是你的營(yíng)銷方法與眾不同。同樣的方法也會(huì)影響你的產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)。
I met a fellow while networking who had a "unique process" for helping companies resolve conflicts between employee groups. When I asked him to explain his process, he said I would have to experience it to understand it. I inquired how it compared to solutions like mediation or team building, and he told me it was a totally different approach that defied comparison.
我在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上遇到一個(gè)人，他用獨(dú)特的方法來幫助公司解決和員工的沖突。當(dāng)我讓他向我解釋他的處理方法時(shí)，他說我只有親身經(jīng)歷過才能理解。我詢問他的方法與調(diào)解和團(tuán)隊(duì)建設(shè)比起來怎么樣，他告訴我說自己都不屑于和那些比較。
