When “Think Different” Is Wrong For Your Company

Steve Jobs’ most famous slogan was “Think different.”

Frank Sinatra’s biggest hit was “My Way.”

Those of us who’ve launched successful startups have clung to the mantra “Don’t be like everybody else.” It’s because we value individualism and standing out from the herd. And if you’re going to succeed in business, you can’t just copy what everybody else is doing.

But on a regular basis I talk to business owners who are blindly following this philosophy to their detriment. They think they have to be different from their competitors at every key point in their business operations. Otherwise their customers won’t see them as any different from their competition.

Ironically, it’s only when two things are similar that you easily tell which one is better — but more on that in a minute.

The people I’ve talked to are concerned that adopting an industry-wide transaction platform will mean that their competitors will be using the same system and so their customers won’t be able to tell them apart.

I tell them they’re making a mistake for two big reasons.

Think of Your Customers

Your clients want industry standards, whether it’s document formats like .docx and PDF, the gas and brake pedals in their rental car, or transaction portals that everybody knows how to use. It makes it easier for them to do business with you and takes away potential headaches like compatibility problems.

In your mind “proprietary” might equal “better.” But for clients it means “controlling” and “stuck working with us.”

I hate to pick on Sony. I actually really like their products. But when it comes to an example of a company that’s failed repeatedly to buck the standardization rule, Sony really stands out.

They’ve made great electronics for more than 50 years. But over and over again they’ve tried to create a proprietary medium or file format that works solely with their products only to have it fail to catch on: Betamax video tapes, Minidisc digital audio, Memory Sticks, and the .dvf audio format to name a few.

In each case Sony’s proprietary version was probably the best quality available. But in each case it failed because it was up against a standardized format that had the majority of market share. And consumers want compatibility. To be fair, I should add that Sony picked the right side in the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD format battle. (Blu-ray won.)

Markets favor companies that follow industry standardization because it causes the least amount of transactional friction. Your “I gotta be me” system will eventually be seen as a negative by your potential customers.

You Can Win By Comparison

It’s only when you and everybody else in your industry shares a common standard that you can truly differentiate yourself.

If I asked you who’s better, the Chicago Bulls or the Chicago Bears, you’d probably say, “At what? They don’t play the same sport.”

It’s tough to compare when it’s apples to oranges. If we wanted to know if the Bears were better than the Bengals (my hometown team), we’d have them meet on a standard football field, both using standard equipment, and playing by the same rules.

When you use an industry-wide platform or other standardization, your customers get a chance to really compare you to the competition.

In real estate, my industry, that’s when you can win them over with better knowledge, better service, and better connections.

At the end of the day, they’re going to be impressed by your peoplework skills, not your expensive proprietary system.

Think of Your Future Self

Finally, adopting a standard platform has advantages for you now and down the road. First of all, there’s probably a good reason that it’s the standard. It’s most likely the best solution. The market has tried out the alternatives and picked that one.

A second advantage is that you don’t have to spend all the time and resources to train for your one-of-a-kind system only to have to spend it all again when you have to abandon it.

But also, if you can hire new people who are already familiar with the industry standard, they can be up and running much sooner. What if you can hire away some of your competitor’s best people? You’ll be glad you shared the same system.

So do “Think Different” in the areas that count. But never be afraid of adopting the kind of standardization that will make it easier on your customers.

Coming up in part two: How a standardized platform can transform your company through collaboration.