Marketing New and Different!

What is it that makes someone stand up and take notice?  In marketing, it's what's new and different that catches the eye.  I recently had to address this issue with the SCOOP Internet Marketing Forum.  I started the forum a couple of years ago and have been blessed with a growing number of members. However, now I'd like to expand the platform to help as many marketers as possible find the answers they're looking for.  To do so, I have to begin asking some questions.

Where to Begin?
I thought long and hard about my forum and other forums I've joined in the past and asked that one difficult question.  "What's so great about the SCOOP forum?"  It's not an easy questions to ask yourself.  In fact, I'd like you to try the question out on your product, service, or business.  What is it that's truly unique about you?  How do customers benefit by purchasing your service above other service providers?

The question is difficult because it requires us to think of something new, different. After asking the question to myself I realized that:

--What I had to offer wasn't different
--Consumers could find similar information elsewhere
--I was making excuses for why I had a me-too solution

From Thought to Action
Once I realized that I wasn't offering anything of greater value than my competitors, other marketing forums, I had to begin asking a different question, "How CAN I make my forum different and better?"  Asking that questions really got me thinking.  It also made me realize that I should be working with others to share ideas and evaluate possibilities.

After just a short while we started to find a variety of things that we could do to enhance the forum (expanded profiles, design changes, exclusive content, etc.) to set us apart from the competition.  It was clear to me that once you start asking the right questions, you can do something to set you apart and rise above the crowd.  Keep this in mind the next time you're just getting by and need a change for your company, products, or services!