If you pay much attention to the “news” (and you probably shouldn’t since it is mostly propaganda and BS), then it is easy to begin to feel a little… pessimistic.
Lots of people out there talking about recessions. Collapses. Social unrest. This, that and the other thing. Oh, and don’t forget all the things “they” will do to you (or are trying to do to you).
It is easy to turn into an effect of all this stuff. To feel like your future isn’t really in your control. That the world is going to just deliver headwinds your way and your best bet is to figure out how to survive it rather than thrive.
But, no.
Not only is that not a mindset that will take you anywhere good, but it also isn’t really even true.
See, I think there is TREMENDOUS opportunity right now for business owners of all sizes to grow. Even in niches that otherwise seem really crowded.
The opportunity lies in VALUES.
More and more, consumers are beginning to choose who they do business with based on the VALUES of the business. They want to know what the business stands for.
Not only that, there is opportunity to compete head on with really big players in your niche merely by proclaiming and standing behind the VALUES of a particular market.
I’ll give you a prime example…
The mobile phone space is super crowded. With really big players like Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, etc. Yet, a scrappy little startup called Patriot Mobile was founded. Right smack on their homepage, they take a strong stand as a “Christian Conservative Wireless Provider”. They stand for life, the Constitution, etc. And they wrapped themselves in the red, white and blue.
In another example, a shaving club called Harry’s Razors took a position in 2016 by discontinuing all advertising with The Daily Wire (a conservative media company) due to some views on gender identity. For one, gotta hand it to Harry’s Razors for taking a position. But, it goes further rather ironically…
See, Jeremy Boreing (the co-CEO of The Daily Wire) responded by founding an entirely new company called Jeremy’s Razors. A new company that did pretty much the same thing, but was specifically anti-woke. He said “stop giving money to people who hate you. Give it to me”. And the company has gone on to be rather successful on it’s own. Pretty funny.
Whether it be companies embracing traditional values, being “anti-woke”, sporting the PRIDE colors or putting the Ukrainian flag on their website and proclaiming they stand with Ukraine… all of it is values-based marketing.
Yes, this kind of marketing can also alienate people. Taking a stand often does. For instance, you’ve got a certain segment of people who are cancelling Tesla orders because of Elon’s antics on Twitter. Or some boycotting Disney for their “woke” stances. So, it goes both ways.
Thing is…
A lot of the times, the bond formed for those who agree with those values is stronger than the counter-reaction.
Now, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the only values that count here are overtly political. Those are just some examples that are more public and are likely to be known by more people, so they make good examples. But, the values one stands behind don’t have to be overtly political at all.
But, there can be a real marketing power behind declaring where you stand on issues that don’t necessarily have direct relation to your business.
That’s because of the times in which we live.
More and more, consumers CARE who they are supporting with their money.
See, a lot of business training out there talks about the importance of product/market fit. And, surely, that’s super important and pretty much the core to whether a business is going to work out not. But…
Values/market fit is a real thing, too.
It is a point of market differentiation. A point of positioning.
Even if the product or service you offer is almost identical to a competitor, you can still out-market them merely by standing firmly in the light of the values of that market.
In fact…
You could almost get away with choosing your market first. Choose it based on VALUES. Then, find out what they need and want and just build it.
Because of this, there’s a ton of opportunity out there to build offers for things that already exist, but just targeting a different set of values.
Even if you don’t want to overtly take on political positions, I think it is just important to BE YOU. You have opinions. Your opinions might not be agreed with by every single person you contact, but who cares. Stand behind them. Hold a position in space. Don’t be some generic wishy-washy blob trying to make every single person happy. It never works.
What are your core values? What do you believe?
And also important…
What do you stand against?
Don’t hide from it. Let it be part of your content and your marketing. Just maybe… let it help shape how you build and sell your products.
Here’s how I help people every day…
Make everything about managing your site simpler… by having me on your team to help make sure everything goes smoothly. By providing the very best tools, the best hosting and maintaining everything for you… I’ll take care of the mechanics so you can just focus on growth.
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