(Time to read this Blog is about 3.5 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “Whatever you sell, people come to you for that…plus joy! If you ever underestimate the power of the ‘joy’ part, you make a huge mistake.
    
   When you and your competitors sell about the same thing, for the same price and you all look and sound pretty much alike, ‘joy’ could be your sustainable competitive advantage!”  
    
   …Donald Cooper.
     
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   World-class is a mindset…not a location.
    
   Many businesses believe that if they’re not in a ‘big city’ market, there’s no need to be world-class…and they’re wrong.
    
   Mediocrity is no longer an option.  You need to be world-class wherever you are and whomever you serve.  World-class products and services.  World-class value and customer experiences. World-class marketing, website and social media.   And world-class operating efficiency.   How do you rate?  What will you do to develop a world-class mind set?
    
3. The most bizarre product launch ever. KFC has just launched ‘fried chicken flavoured toothpaste’.  They claim that, “This toothpaste is finger-lickin’ fresh, and brings KFC’s crispy, golden perfection straight to your toothbrush,” I do not make this stuff up.
    
4. Get your facts straight, Mayor. Last week, Olivia Chow, Toronto’s leftist Mayor, told Torontonians, “Don’t shop at Home Depot.  Shop Canadian, Rona, yeah, yes, yes. We are not the 51st state. Are you kidding? We are proud Torontonians, right?”
    
   The problem is that Rona (Home Depot’s competitor in Canada) has been American-owned for 9 years.  First by Lowes and now by US venture capital firm, Sycamore Partners.
    
5. AI update. We’re told that AI will change everything and much more quickly than anyone imagined.  Both my clients and I are trying to get a handle on what this means for their business.  So, each week, I’ll offer a little info about some specific innovations to get you thinking about AI in your business.  If you have examples to share about how you’re using AI in your biz, I’d love to hear from you.
   1. OpenAI just released ‘GPT-4.1’, a breakthrough AI model that processes up to 1 million bits of information at once, unlocking the ability to build entire software apps from a single sentence and hold deep, humanlike conversations that weren’t expected for years.
   2. Chipmaker Nvidia has just reported a 73% surge in chip revenue, driven almost entirely by the building of new Data Centers to support AI infrastructure demand.
   3. Chevron is investing in power plants to deliver electricity to the growing number of AI Data Centers. A clear sign that many industries are shifting their focus toward AI infrastructure. 
   4. In logistics, Uber Freight uses AI to optimize routing, reduce waste, and minimize fuel consumption. 
   5. AI handwriting analysis spots dyslexia early in young people. This breakthrough will help children with learning disabilities receive the support they need much sooner.

 Now, to this week’s important topic:

Do you know who you are…many businesses do not:

Do you know who you are?  Many businesses do not!  They lack clarity.  And, here’s how it works…if you don’t know who you are, your customers don’t know who you are and whether or not you’re the ‘wise choice’ for them.

Here are two businesses who know who they are:

Example #1:  There’s a landscape maintenance business in Oklahoma named, ‘Tulsa Lawns of Perfection’.  That’s brilliant!  Would you have the nerve to call them and ask for a cheap price on grass cutting?  Of course not.  They don’t do ‘cheap’…they do ‘perfect’.   

Example #2:  Metal Fabricating and Welding in Edmonton, Alberta has decided not to be the cheapest.  Here’s their clear market positioning;

“We’re known as the ‘go to’ fabricator for complex, difficult, or quickly needed, one-of-a-kind fabricated products.”

There’s nothing about the words “complex, quickly needed or one-of-a-kind” that suggest that these folks are cheap.  They’re clear about who they are and their customers and prospects are clear about who they are.  They’re not stuck in that awful undifferentiated ‘muddy middle’.  If your market positioning is to proudly be ‘not the cheapest’, exactly what is your specific, clear and compelling value story or customer experience that makes it OK for you to be that?

As a business owner, leader or manager, your first job is ‘clarity.  And one of the most important things to be clear about is ‘who you are’.  So, what’s your clear and compelling value and customer experience that ‘grabs’ your target customers, clearly differentiates you from your competitors, makes you famous grows your bottom line?  If you’re trying to be ‘something for everyone’, you’ll be compelling to no one. And that will end badly.

If you’d like help figuring this out, perhaps we should chat.

That’s it for this week…

Live brilliantly and be kind to each other!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.