Before each Go BIG company was an industry
behemoth they were two guys in a room like everyone else. Yet Go BIG companies consistently appear to be Number One in their respective markets from day one.
What you’ll find is that these Number One positions have very little to do with the actual size or growth of the company (at least initially). They are about the intelligent positioning of a company to be perceived as a leader, or said differently as the winner before the race has begun.
In fact most of these companies really are just two guys in a room. However they are able to position
themselves as leading companies to attract the type of attention and credibility that a Number One company deserves. This section is about how these Go BIG companies act like Number One from day one.
Getting Noticed and Getting Selected
Marketing your company really comes down to two basic concepts – getting noticed and getting selected. It’s no good to have one without the other.
It all starts with getting noticed which means standing out from the crowd. In every market there is so much noise among competitors and so many forms of media that getting noticed is harder than ever.
Yet getting noticed is only half of the equation – you still need to get selected. This means creating an air of credibility that gives people the confidence to say “yes” to your product over your competitors’. You want people to believe that making the decision to buy your services is the right one.
Unfortunately customers have so many choices in the market that it’s difficult to evaluate them all. This is where Go BIG companies do things differently. Go BIG companies know that most customers buy based upon their perceptions of what is the most valuable product and can only make decisions based upon what they can perceive to be the best.
Clutter and Credibility
The best way to cut through the clutter and create an air of credibility at the same time is to establish a Number One position. A Number One position stands out from the crowd. It’s a winner. It rises above the rest.
When making a product selection, consumers associate Number One with a wise decision that has earned the credibility associated with being the “leader in its class.” That means that if you can get to the customer first (get noticed) and quickly convince the customer that you are the best decision (get selected) then you win the customer before your competitor does.
With so much attention and pressure to be Number One, a startup needs to figure out how to attain that status quickly and hold onto it. In this section we are going to talk about how critical it is to be Number One, how Go BIG companies think and act like Number One, and how you can create a Number One position for yourself today.
Number Two is Inferior
The problem with being Number Two (or three, or four, or fifty) is that the world feels there must be a reason that you’re not Number One. Number Two is
inherently the whipping boy for Number One. In order for Number One to have the status that they do,
Number Two must have done something wrong.
It’s a popular marketing tactic to expose the wounds of Number Two in order to convince consumers that Number One avoids that fatal flaw. The second- guessing that gets built into Number Two creates an instant chasm between the credibility of Number One and Number Two.
You’ve got enough work ahead of you to build your brand and convince customers to buy – the last thing you need is another hurdle to overcome with your credibility!
People Perceive Anything Less Than Number One as a Loser
When the Stanley Cup is over and the losing team skates off the ice, you don’t see people getting all excited about the fact that they came in second. The notion is that they could have been Number One, they failed, and now they are in their rightful place as
Number Two. Or said less diplomatically, they are the losers. You can’t afford to be perceived as the loser.
Number One Cuts Through the Clutter
Cutting through the clutter of marketing messages for a startup company with no existing brand equity is a big challenge. There are so many people with so many products all shouting at the top of their lungs that getting your message heard seems nearly impossible.
What Go BIG companies do well is position themselves in a way that, regardless of all the noise around them, gets their messages heard. This is because they know how to position their messages as being more important than all the others.
Imagine if I were a stock broker cold calling to convince you to invest with my firm. I told you I had an interesting opportunity you needed to hear. You would probably hang up the phone before I finished my first sentence. That’s because my message didn’t resonate with you. I didn’t differentiate myself from all the other clutter you’ve been hearing.
Now let’s try that again, but this time I start by saying that I’m the energy industry’s most highly-rated investor and I had an opportunity that I wanted to discuss with you. Now I might have your attention. My leading status (“most highly rated”) has created a
small window for me to speak just a little bit longer and get my credibility across.
Getting that moment of attention is exactly what your company needs to get its foot in the door. Think of your Number One position as a VIP card that allows you to get past the bouncer at the door. Once you’re in the door, now you need to make the sale.
Number One Has Credibility
Your Number One status not only gets you in the door, it also helps you make the sale. There is an implied reasoning for a Number One status – that the person, product, or company must have beaten out everyone else in order to earn that status. Clearly if you were awarded a “winning” status you must have met all the criteria of a winner.
Number One implies credibility. For a startup that has very little traction in the marketplace, credibility is vital to its success.
Let’s forget that people rarely take the time to figure out who defined those criteria or why they were important to begin with. No one questions a winner. The loser, however, instantly carries with it the question of “why didn’t you become Number One? You must have made a mistake.” It would seem that all the benefits of being Number One carry an exponential downside as Number Two.
When you combine the ability of Number One to cut through the clutter with the ability of Number One to help make the sale, you start to open up doors with all of your important constituents – customers, investors, employees, and the media. Let’s take a look at how each group is inspired by your status and how having a Number One position makes you far more successful with these groups.
Customers Buy Number One
Customers have more product choices than ever before. With so many choices it doesn’t make sense to settle for inferior or second-rate products. For this reason every product clamors to a Number One position to be the easy choice for consumers.
Customers want to make decisions that make them feel good. Buying Number One makes them feel like they’ve gotten “the best”, and that’s a rewarding feeling especially if the cost difference is negligible.
Creating a Number One position reinforces the
customer’s sense that they made the right decision. The more comfortable the customer feels with your Number One status, the lower the barrier to accepting your product as their choice.
Investors bet on Number One
This shouldn’t be hard to figure out. Imagine you’ve got $1,000 to invest in the stock market in two different companies. Company A is the market leader and Company B is the market follower.
Immediately you perceive Company A to be the safer bet. Maybe Company B has a lot of potential, but by being the market follower you instantly perceive them to be more of a gamble. Your own company works the
same way when outside capital is looking at your deal. Being Number One in your space gives investors the sense that you are a safer bet.
Anything you can do to convince investors that you are the best horse to bet on is a positive. What investors are constantly looking for is that one investment that is about to take off with as little risk associated as
possible. Being Number One suggests that you have already proven your leadership position, now it’s just a matter of how big you can get.
Top Talent Wants to Work for Number One
Just like an investor, top talent that comes to work for your company is considering the return on their investment of time and expertise. A top company can provide the opportunity that a lesser company cannot. That company can provide not only financial upside but the prestige of working for the leader in a given space.
Getting a job offer from a market-leading company is not only a great opportunity; it’s an affirmation of the skills and credibility of the candidate. It’s no surprise that the best quarterbacks go to the best colleges and the best attorneys go to the best law firms. They want to go where they are going to be in good company.
Your top talent wants to work for the winning team as well, and nothing says “winning team” like a Number One position. You can use your leading status to attract
and retain people to your company. It’s a powerful recruiting tool.
The Media Showers Number One
The media can be a powerful ally of any company creating both exposure and credibility to the masses. But the media isn’t particularly hard to understand – they cover stories that will get people to read
magazines, tune in their TV, and jump on their homepage.
What people want to hear about are the outstanding organizations – the Number One players – in their respective categories that trounce everyone else. Number One is newsworthy. Everyone wants to know what its like to be on top, to be successful, to be
dominant. No one cares what Number Five is thinking. They didn’t beat everyone else out, so they’re not newsworthy.
If you’re not sure about how much the media loves Number One, think about this – we all know Bill Gates is the world’s richest man. We know that because the media tells us all the time. They are infatuated with his Number One status. Well then, can you tell me who the third richest man is? I’ll give you a hint – he also started Microsoft.
Most people can’t tell you who Number Two and Number Three are because the media gives them no
attention. With such a limited amount of space in the media, they can only focus on the players that define their category. And guess what? They are at the Number One spots.
You Need to be Number One NOW
With all the benefits your Number One status affords, you absolutely need to get there as quickly as humanly possible. What we’re talking about is understanding how vital Number One is to your success and how being anything less is a huge disadvantage.
Now comes the hard part – actually becoming Number One. We already recognize that the sooner we can get there the better off we will be. Go BIG companies know that becoming Number One means taking control of their respective markets and gaining all the attention and credibility of their constituents.