Weekly Column: 2017-08-18

It is often said that the world is fair. We also often hear that we should look at risks as opportunities.

When I initially started my online business, the clothing products I was trying to sell were just too commonplace.  In fact, it was rather difficult to sell them. Although the quality was good, the design was a bit cheesy, so it was difficult to catch the consumers’ eyes. No matter how good the quality was, because of the nature of online sales, it was not easy to emphasize quality so I had to find a different approach. From that point on, I started to compare the cheesy design to other products and emphasized its uniqueness over other products. Differentiation; I explained to consumers why they should buy my products. Being different from others is standing out, and this, in turn, means having appeal.

Differentiation sometimes means giving up on something else. In other words, to be the best in one field, you must give up another field. Of course, you can run your business just like everyone else, but if you choose a different direction than your competitors, you may get differentiated benefits if you persistently carry on. Turning something ordinary into something special by highlighting its weaknesses as advantages is called branding. Consumers must associate strong impressions of favorability and uniqueness to the brand.

It is actually quite difficult to clearly define what a good design is. This is because everyone’s style is very subjective. Even if everyone likes that product, not everyone will buy it. For some, a simple design is a good design, but for others, something that others do not have is their definition of a good design. Therefore, instead of emphasizing that this is the best product, emphasize that this is a different product from others and repackage its disadvantage into something special.

However, merely emphasizing the uniqueness of something tailored to a minority does not guarantee a large volume of sales. If a unique product is on the market for too long, its rarity will be reduced. Therefore, it is beneficial to use this in a different way. The method is to reduce supply and raise demand and sell the products as limited editions. By selling products with a limited supply and encouraging consumers to purchase them, ultimately the value of the product and the brand simultaneously go up in a short period of time. Ultimately, the success of this product differentiation and unique sales strategy are possible due to the disadvantages.

Many business owners strive to make up for the weaknesses of their products or services. This is just common sense. However, sometimes while compensating for their weaknesses, their strengths are overlooked and so their value will not be recognized. In the end, isn’t true differentiation bringing out the advantages of the product or service? There is nothing in the world that does not have its own strengths.  It's just that their strengths haven't been discovered yet.

There are many more efforts for success that are often unseen. Eventually, someone who is working harder than others will find the path to success. That is why the world is fair.