Get Different: Marketing That Can't Be Ignored!

Summary of Get Different

1. 1

   When Better Isn't Enough: The Brutal Truth About Modern Marketing

   

   00:00

   00:00

   Here's something that might sting: your business could be dying right now, and it has nothing to do with the quality of what you sell. The average person encounters 10,000 marketing messages every single day. In that relentless noise, being "good" is the same as being invisible. You could have the best product in your industry, but if no one knows it exists, you're already losing to inferior competitors who simply know how to get noticed. This isn't about having a bigger budget or hiring expensive agencies-it's about understanding one fundamental principle that most businesses completely miss. Consider this wake-up call: a brilliant book launch that resulted in 20,000 unsold copies stacked in basements, attics, and cars. The assumption was simple-great content sells itself. It doesn't. The harsh reality is that people buy what they know exists, and if you're marketing like everyone else in your industry, you've already lost the battle for attention. Your brain is hardwired to filter out the familiar and focus only on what's different-a survival mechanism that now determines whether businesses thrive or vanish into obscurity.

2. 2

   The Three-Step System That Breaks Through the Noise

   Start Listening

   The DAD framework provides a scientific approach: Differentiate, Attract, Direct. These three steps must happen in sequence-skipping one guarantees failure. Differentiation breaks through your brain's reticular formation, the filter that ignores familiar patterns. While most real estate agents send forgettable postcards, one successful agent delivers quarterly market updates in hand-delivered mason jars filled with seasonal treats, ensuring her materials never reach the recycling bin. Attraction ensures your difference appeals rather than repels. Dollar Shave Club didn't just differentiate with cheap razors-they made that difference attractive through humor and straightforward messaging that resonated with customers tired of overpriced blades. Direction compels specific action. Gabriel Pina combined accounting expertise with his passion for cigars, creating "The Numbers Guy Cigar Club." Monthly financial planning sessions in premium cigar lounges differentiated him, attracted successful business owners, and directed them toward tax-saving opportunities. Within six months, this approach added six figures to his annual revenue.

3. 3

   Finding Your Target One Hundred: Precision Over Popularity

   Start Listening

   The most effective marketing focuses laser-like on specific individuals you're genuinely excited to serve - your "Target One Hundred." This targeted approach concentrates resources on prospects most likely to become valuable, long-term clients. Start with a crush-cringe analysis of existing customers. Sort them by revenue, then mark those you love working with versus those who make you cringe. The top 10% who generate high revenue AND you enjoy serving - these are the customers you want to clone. Pay attention to patterns in how they found you and what they value most. Once you've identified your Who, determine your What (specific offer) and your Win (desired outcome). Your offer must address core desires, not surface-level wants. Instead of "social media management," position it as "helping busy executives build thought leadership while saving 10 hours weekly." Linda Weathers spent over $50,000 on marketing "experts" without landing a single client in nine months. After identifying specific decision-makers in mid-sized manufacturing companies, she landed two new clients and one prospect within three weeks. Effective marketing doesn't require massive spending - just the right approach focused on the right people.

4. Chapter 4

   Creating Marketing That Commands Attention

   Jesse Cole transformed a failing baseball team into the wildly successful Savannah Bananas by choosing an attention-grabbing name unrelated to the city, leading to sold-out seasons and worldwide merchandise sales. Use different mediums than competitors. When Kasey Anton's Boston restaurant struggled with weekday business, she sent birthday candles with "Dinner on us" coupons to previous customers, generating over $18,000 for under $200. Blend strategies from unrelated industries - Vernon Hill adapted McDonald's toy giveaways by offering dog treats at bank drive-throughs, creating dogs that barked when passing his banks. He later sold for $8.5 billion. Change professional labels to differentiate immediately. Martin Bissett calls himself a "Knowledge Partner" instead of an accountant. Find your "-est" - what makes you the most extreme in your category. The most critical principle is authenticity. Your quirks aren't liabilities; they're marketing advantages that make you memorable and human. Being disingenuous carries greater risk - either being discovered as fake or slowly losing your soul.

   Chapter 5

   Making Different Marketing Attractive and Directing Action

   Geek Squad dominated computer repair by showing up in taped glasses, FBI-style suits, and black-and-white VW Beetles. While competitors laughed, customers flocked because their different marketing was also attractive. Your marketing must align with your offer. A disheveled Statue of Liberty promoting tax services gets attention but fails to inspire confidence. The Savannah Bananas drew criticism from sports purists but perfectly attracted their true audience: families seeking entertainment. Speak to your prospect's identity-the "Don't Mess with Texas" campaign aligned with state pride, reducing highway litter by 72%. Street performers excel at directing action-they make it clear: put money in the bucket. Wall Drug transformed a struggling drugstore by offering "Free Ice Water" to hot South Dakota travelers. Today, millions visit annually. Adjust your directive to the perceived relationship: when seen as superior, tell prospects what to do; when equal, invite them to join; when inferior, petition respectfully. Secrets and exclusivity trigger loyalty-United Airlines' invitation-only restaurant and hidden bars behind Coca-Cola machines create allure through being "in the know." Give prospects ONE action and clearly explain what happens next.

   Chapter 6

   Turning Experiments Into Systematic Success

   Over 90% of marketing experiments fail, but the 10% that succeed more than compensate for losses. The pull toward what everyone else does feels safe because it's familiar, not because it works. Doing different feels scary precisely because no one else is doing it-and that's exactly why you must. Approach ideas as experiments, not permanent plans. Define your objective (WHO, WHAT, WIN), calculate investment parameters, design your experiment, and measure both intentions and outcomes. After reviewing results, render a verdict: expand, retest, improve, or abandon. Complete your full Target One Hundred test before deciding an approach doesn't work. The only true measure of marketing success is whether people actually pay. Trust wallets, not words-people often say what you want to hear when they mean "I want you to like me." What seems like a disadvantage can become your greatest advantage. Matt Shoup's painting company accidentally painted a baby during a job. After years of hiding this "dirty secret," he realized sharing it demonstrated accountability. Despite warnings of "company suicide," including the story in marketing materials caused sales and profitability to explode. Burger King's "Whopper Detour" offered one-cent Whoppers to customers within 600 feet of McDonald's-turning their competitor's massive presence into a disadvantage and resulting in 1.5 million app downloads.

   Chapter 7

   The Bold Path Forward: Never Be Regular

   In a world where conformity masquerades as professionalism, winning businesses amplify their authentic selves. You don't need a bigger budget - you need the courage to do what doesn't scale, what competitors won't copy, what makes you unmistakably you. Your weird is your competitive advantage. Your constraints force creativity that resource-rich competitors never discover. Your uniqueness makes you memorable in a sea of sameness. The fortune cookie wisdom holds true: "Be bold, be italic, but never be regular." Stop waiting for permission to stand out. Stop hiding behind industry norms. Get different, get noticed, get customers - because being invisible isn't humble, it's just tragic.

   Continue Reading