Chapter 17
Cut through the Clutter
Mainstream communication is so cluttered today that, in order to differentiate ourselves, we need to get noticed. How often have you wondered how another business, doing the same thing you do, makes 50 times more money? The person running it is nowhere near as smart as you are, and you work much harder. Boy, talk about lucky breaks!
Well, the solution is usually much simpler than that. The more successful company probably used a customer product benefit (CPB), focused on benefits, knew their competition, and thought outside the box more often than you did. This enabled that company to maximize its performance and minimize its marketing and sales costs. Maybe the company realized it didn't have all the answers to what its customers needed. Perhaps it was one of those companies that wasted money on research! Then again, maybe they were just lucky.
We have built our reputation on being different, on thinking outside the box. This is an often-used expression and one that is frequently interpreted as meaning a radical approach in a new direction.
Often, it is just a minor, but unique, change that creates a huge difference in the performance of a product or business.
For example, over a period of 90 years, Oscar Mayer had developed a position of leadership in the processed-meats business. In 1988, they became part of Kraft Foods and in 1990 Oscar Mayer launched Lunchables for Kids with a CPB of “Making fun of lunch,” creating a giant new $500 million ...
