Seth Godin is well-known for describing how to be remarkable (worth making a remark about). His primary example is the “Purple Cow.”
I am a great fan of this philosophy and inserting it into my business’ critical decision making. I find myself asking, “Is this remarkable?” or “Are we remarkable?” I am a bit obsessed with the entire notion of “being remarkable.”
Is there ever a time to not be remarkable? You might think of the obvious like getting your name in the paper for violating the law. It is remarkable, but not very kind to your reputation.
What about in business? Sure, you don’t want to be remarkable for horrible customer service or a dangerous product.
What if one has a great product that is very remarkable? In this case, is there ever a time to tone down the whole remarkable thing? In my opinion, yes. When you are not ready for the market.
Releasing a product without a customer support mechanism isn’t smart. Selling a product without having a method for how the transaction will take place does not make one’s company look good. Launching a remarkable service and the “create an account” feature doesn’t work looks amateurish.
Having one of these issues is not a “killer.” Having all of them at the same time could take the wind out of your company’s sales and you will be remarkable for the wrong reasons.
