It’s hard to be heard when everyone in your market is saying basically the same thing. It’s hard to stand out in any meaningful way from your competitors if everyone is offering the same benefits or the same product for the same price or delivering the same spiel. How can you possibly be heard?
Cold Emails Add Noise—Nurturing Creates Clarity
It’s even more obvious when considering the absolute flurry of AI-generated cold emails arriving in nearly every inbox daily. You can’t cut through noise when your emails sound like everyone else – and your audience will ignore you if you’re simply pitching for a meeting. Cold emails add noise where nurturing creates clarity. That’s a fact we go into in detail in our Cold Email Sequences vs Nurturing: Why one Burns Trust While the Other Builds Real Pipeline.
Two Insurance Companies That Figured Out How to Stand Out
One of the markets here in the US where this is glaringly obvious is the insurance market. Think about the commercials you see about insurance – particularly car insurance. “Switch to us and save money,” worded one way or another, is the main drum that nearly everyone is beating right now. It is very clear that the consumer focus groups were very specific about cost being a significant driver of insurance-buying decisions, isn’t it?
If you’ve seen any car insurance commercials, there are likely a couple of that stand out to you. Which ones? For me, there are two insurance companies that have absolutely done it right. They’ve figured out how to be heard in a sea of sameness.
Farmers Insurance: “We Cover the Weird Things”
The first on my list is Farmers Insurance. In the sea of “switch and save,” they have focused instead on “we cover the weird things that happen,” and they’ve created memorable commercials that stand out. I actually enjoy their commercials for the “OMG factor” of whatever calamity they’re memorializing. The point is, I remember who they are – and I remember that they’ve covered some pretty wild claims – so they’ll probably do a good job with ordinary claims, too.
Liberty Mutual: Annoying, But Unforgettable
The second on my list is Liberty Mutual. I DO NOT LIKE THEIR COMMERCIALS. They’re annoying and stupid. But, wow, are they ever memorable. I won’t forget their name because the emu is annoying, and they made the company name rhyme with EMU – LIMU. And they’ve adopted a tagline, “only pay for what you need,” that intrigues me and makes me wonder what I am paying my current company for that I don’t need.
But Margaret, why is Genoo writing a blog post about car insurance commercials?
Be Brave Enough to Be Different
It’s about standing out. It’s about being the voice that people CAN hear. It’s about attracting YOUR perfect potential customers – understanding your ideal customer profile to a degree your competitors can’t match. This is where narrowing your niche to stand out becomes a powerful differentiator.
It’s about figuring out a different angle that you can capitalize on to capture your audience’s attention, like these 2 insurance companies have done.
You Have Time to Build Trust Through Email
The good news is that YOU don’t have to do it in 30 seconds.
You have the opportunity to engage over time via your email marketing with the people who are on your list. You have the opportunity to build value and earn the trust of your audience, so that whey they are ready to buy, you are at the top of their minds.
(If you haven’t yet read Blue Ocean Strategy, it’s a good time to get into it. It will definitely give you new ideas.)
Three Questions to Find Your Different Angle
What is the primary “noise” in my market? What’s the prevalent pitch? (the equivalent of the car insurance industry’s “switch and save” pitch)
What different angle can I take that will allow me/my company to stand out while still solving a problem that people want to solve with a service or product that I provide?
How can I leverage my content to provide value to people to lead them down the path of trusting me and ultimately choosing me to provide that service or product?
This Only Works If You Know Your Perfect Potential Customer
As with everything, this all becomes part of the bigger picture, right?
You won’t be able to answer those questions if your market – your perfect potential customer – is not crystal clear. You need to know the problem you solve and for whom you best solve it – or this won’t work terribly well for you.This starts with understanding what truly motivates your customers at a deeper level than your competitors do. I recommend you go read this post – really read it – to see what I mean: Here’s My Stuff. Buy My Stuff.
Content That Builds Value and Trust
And yes, you’ll need content that creates a story line, builds value, and creates a relationship of trust. This approach aligns with a broader engagement marketing philosophy that prioritizes authentic connection over traditional promotional tactics.
Frankly, that means writing blog posts, sending emails that link to those blog posts, and tracking what people click and read you know they’re interested in the topic – and then you have an opportunity to deepen the conversation on that topic. The key is incorporating emotional triggers in your messaging that resonate with what drives their engagement.
Focus each bit of content on taking people an inch in the right direction – with ways that they can travel more inches if they choose. (The One-Inch Rule of Effective Marketing post sheds more light on that concept.)
Your Content Strategy Is What Sets You Apart
Everything you write, every speech you give, every interview you do, every sales conversation you have…it’s all your content. Taken separately or together, each piece moves your perfect potential customer toward the ONE THING you do better than anyone else in the world – the way you solve the problem that people want to solve.
Your content – and how you leverage it to provide value to your audience – is what sets you apart from everyone else in your market. What can you write in a blog post to support the angle you’re choosing to go to market with? For example, if I were writing content for an insurance company, I might be writing about how the majority of people buy their car insurance when they buy their car and never adjust it after the car is paid off or there’s a life change (like no longer driving to an office to work).
Find Your Difference and Be Heard
Whether you’re a life coach or a lawyer, a finance company or a farmer, there’s a way YOU can talk to YOUR market that will attract the right people to you. Find your difference and be heard.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can my business stand out when everyone in my market is saying the same thing?
It's about figuring out a different angle that you can capitalize on to capture your audience's attention. You need to know the problem you solve and for whom you best solve it — this starts with understanding what truly motivates your customers at a deeper level than your competitors do.
What three questions should I ask to find my unique market angle?
1. What is the primary 'noise' in my market? What's the prevalent pitch? 2. What different angle can I take that will allow me/my company to stand out while still solving a problem that people want to solve with a service or product that I provide? 3. How can I leverage my content to provide value to people to lead them down the path of trusting me and ultimately choosing me to provide that service or product?
Why don't cold emails work for cutting through market noise?
You can't cut through noise when your emails sound like everyone else — and your audience will ignore you if you're simply pitching for a meeting. Cold emails add noise where nurturing creates clarity.
How does content marketing help build trust with potential customers?
You have the opportunity to engage over time via your email marketing with the people who are on your list. You have the opportunity to build value and earn the trust of your audience, so that when they are ready to buy, you are at the top of their minds. Focus each bit of content on taking people an inch in the right direction — with ways that they can travel more inches if they choose.
Why do I need a clearly defined ideal customer profile before trying to differentiate my business?
You won't be able to answer those questions if your market — your perfect potential customer — is not crystal clear. You need to know the problem you solve and for whom you best solve it — or this won't work terribly well for you.
