The contractors I speak to each week who are trying to differentiate themselves from their competitors could stop a team of oxen.
Problem is, there is only so many ways you can build a deck, only so many ways you can make a kitchen remodeling client feel special, or provide “the best customer service experience” in the trades.
At the end of the day, nothing you say to a prospect either in person or online is going to be that much different.
But I have an idea on how to show it…
A few weeks ago I had a cold, I was miserable and stuck in the house. Summer colds suck and I don’t recommend them at all, and this one really kicked my ass.
While rendered useless to the rest of the world, I was giving my Netflix account a run for it’s money. Watching old Man Men episodes, trying to get into Breaking Bad and failing miserably, then I stumbled across a movie called “Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s.” It was movie about the famous department store Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan.
About Bergdorf
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman.
Today, Bergdorf operates from two stores situated across the street from each other at Fifth Avenue between 57th and 58th streets. Bergdorf Goodman’s main store, which opened at its current location in 1928, is located on the west side of Fifth Avenue. A separate men’s store, established in 1990, is located on the east side of Fifth Avenue, directly across the street.
Prone to fashion, architecture, and other artistic outlets from which to steal get ideas from, I started watching it. While fascinated by the family’s total dedication to this store, it’s employees and customers, one thing stuck out to me;
The font for the sign for Bergdorf Goodman
It’s a beautiful font. More than it just being a beautiful font, it is very identifiable. So much so that just the font alone, writing other words with it still makes you think of Bergdorf’s. Point is…it’s a pretty powerful branding tool.
Now I want you to steal it…
No silly, not the font itself, I want you to steal the concept of using a font to distinguish your business from the others who do what you do in the marketplace.
But I want you take it a step further
I want you to use the font not just for your logo, I want you to use it on every piece of correspondence that interacts with the public. Pick a font that you can read, looks good in a letter, looks good on a truck wrap mock-up, and looks good on yard signs.
Then plaster the world with it
This is a cheap and easy way for you to brand your business without having to spend another dime more than you would have to get the word out to the world about your business.
