This year, we will explore the things that make us remarkable. This year, we will refine our output as a creative firm. This year, we will be unique.
I’m in the middle of reading The Purple Cow by Seth Godin. The central message it delivers is that the strongest business strategy is to bring something unique to the market. Unique things tend to fill a need. Unique products tend sell themselves or fail quickly. Either way, you’re better off.
Blair Enns, agency sales rep turned business coach, provides the same advice in Win Without Pitching. There is very little need to sell yourself if you become unique. The business goal of providing something unique is not to remove competition from your field, but to transcend the field of competitors.
Astute readers of our Fish Wrap and blog know that we’ve been laying the foundation already with our work on the Flux Report, EastBirch.com, data visualization and user interface design. These are all products and services of our creation. These are all original to Birch Studio; a pretty significant departure from what any of our competitors are doing. Since these things combine our existing skill sets and interests, it’s not a career change for us as much as a new recipe using the same awesome ingredients we have in stock.
This year, look for us to bring focus to the branding and analytical skills we have. Look for a lot of improvement in our data visualization and user interface design. Look for big thinking.
That’s where we are aiming to spend 2012, with you.
