I was recently interviewed for Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Marketing Diamond Inner Circle. These are top marketers.
But Dan brought up an interesting question he felt they should hear.
I use the term “unfair advantage” in the title of my book. Dan compared it to the word “monopoly,” saying many people see those terms negatively. How did I feel about that?
My reaction was simple. Hogwash.
Look, we’ve been brainwashed to think having a “monopoly,” or an “unfair advantage” is a BAD thing. That’s hogwash.
Whether Ma Bell’s monopoly was really a bad thing is open to interpretation, but our desire to have a monopoly in the mind of our customer should be our top objective. I don’t want to have a fair fight…to be the best choice they can make.
I want to be the ONLY choice they can make. I want to be a category of one.
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Steve:
There is a difference between your use of “unfair advantage” and the other people’s use of these terms like “monopoly.”
As some words course back and forth on the sea of communication, they gather barnacles of meaning that impede their progress. Examples include other people’s use of “monopoly” or “unfair advantage.”
“Monopoly” has been in the negative perception lexicon at least since the mid-1880’s that eventually gave us the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890. “Unfair” has generally been considered negative–its political consequences galvanized the Progressive Movement of the 1890’s through World War I and poitical perceptions both for and against ideas through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
But examne the way you use it. You use “unfair advantage” as the benefit of the perception of the word and deed that is created when your clients think, act and communicate consistent with your suggestions and advice. That is different. As long as you use it in your context, it can be positive.
Great analysis, Richard. Thanks!