Don’t Lead. Try Harder Instead.

I love it when companies tout themselves as “the leading provider of _______.”

What does that even mean?

That you sell more of “x” than other providers? Do customers care about that?

Or are you trying to create a new product category? Then you can claim to be “the leader,” right?

Again, do customers care about that?

When was the last time you said to yourself, “When I go to the store today, I’ll make sure to buy the leading brand of toothpaste.” ?

What IS the leading brand of toothpaste? And does it matter?

Too often, companies fall back on using “the leading…” as their differentiator. It’s especially hilarious in a commodity market, like toothpaste, where there is no differentiation except price and packaging.

Another example: rental cars.

When was the last time you said to yourself, “The next time I travel, I’m going to make sure to rent from the leading rental car company.”?

I don’t know about you, but when I rent a car, I look for the cheapest price, period. I might trust a name brand more than a local brand I’ve never heard of, but, I’ve rented from the latter before, and it turned out just fine.

So instead of putting “We’re the leading provider of ______” on your communications, do what rental car company Avis did.

Back in the 1960s, they were not the leading rental car company. Hertz was. 

So their ad agency, legendary Doyle Dane Bernbach, came up with a truly innovative way to differentiate Avis:

“We Try Harder”

Here is the text from one of their introductory ads:

Brilliant.

Avis ran this campaign for 50 years. And while they never overtook Hertz in sales, this campaign helped them increase their sales significantly. 

I’d call that a win. 

Who cares about being number 2, as long as you’re making a good profit and keeping a loyal customer base?

Or number 3, or 9 for that matter?

The takeaway:

Find something that truly differentiates yourself from the competition that solves a unique pain point for a distinct target market. That will make your offering a game changer for them.

You may never make it to number 1 in the total market.

But offer something unique, brand yourself uniquely, and deliver great products and service, and you’ll be number 1 with your customers.

That’s what happens when you try harder.

To your marketing success,

Note: No part of this blog post, or any post on this site, was written by A.I. You’re getting pure human writing based on years of professional experience.