A good read.
Seth Godin wrote a bestseller about twelve years ago, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable. It is as valid now as it was then.
The premise is that we have all driven by fields of cows without taking much notice of any one cow in particular. Why? Because they all look the same. But if one of the cows was purple we would notice it, be intrigued, and try to find out more about that particular stand-out cow.
The metaphor is of course obvious. If your business is but one in a field of similar-looking cows, it is difficult to attract attention, difficult to stand out from the crowd. The book is still in print and obtainable from bookstores or online from a number of sources. It is a good read for any textile screen shop owner trying to differentiate his or her shop from the clamouring crowd.
In a magazine article written at about the time of the release of the book Godin asks, “Why not?” to a number of suggestions for doing things differently. He encourages challenging conventional thinking to make your business stand out from the crowd. He suggests that you paint your cow purple.
Just some of his “Why not?” challenges . . .
– Why not pick one underserved niche to target (and to dominate)? What would it be? Why not launch a product that does nothing but appeal to that market?
– Why not differentiate your customers? Find the group that is most profitable. Figure out how to develop for, advertise to, or reward that group. Ignore the rest. Cater to the customers you would choose if you could choose your customers.
– Why not find things that are “just not done” in your industry and then go ahead and do them?
There are plenty more ideas worth considering in this bestseller. I suggest you get the book.