“Pfft. That’s been done before.”
If I had to count the phrase that has killed more interesting business ideas than any other, “That’s been done before” would be it.
Ironically, it may also be the phrase that will make your business hugely successful…with one caveat.
Web Hosting–That’s Definitely Been Done Before!
When I started my web hosting company in 2001, I heard a lot of “That’s been done before,” as well as some other scary things. This was 2001, after all, in Silicon Valley…the dot-com bust. Tumbleweeds were blowing through empty datacenters. (Almost literally!) Companies were liquidating equipment at 8 cents on the dollar. “Everyone” was going bankrupt.
Instead of listening to “that’s been done before,” I went headfirst into a “dying” industry.
We provided dedicated servers and colocation. So did thousands of other companies.
We provided hosting in San Jose, CA. So did at least ten other companies (at least five of which were in the same datacenter we were.)
Do Your Customers Ask You to Compete on Price?
In such a commoditized industry, where customers didn’t understand the technical details, they often resorted to price as a qualifier. After all, if you know absolutely nothing about two items, and you have to buy one or the other, and they both look about the same, you’ll probably pick the cheaper one.
We had to find a way to stand out. Price definitely wasn’t it–that was a race to the bottom. I was competing with a guy who made big bucks as a network admin and did hosting in his spare time for fun, and another who ran his “office” out of his house. Neither had employees. Neither had a real profit motive.
I had a real office that cost a few thousand dollars a month, taxes to pay, and employees who depended on my company for their livelihoods.
How To Do the Same Thing As Everyone Else and Succeed Wildly
One of the most important things I learned from my journey is that you can do the same thing as everyone else and still succeed…as long as you have them beat on one option.
Better yet, that option need not be the same for all your customers!
I picked two ways to stand out:
- Search engine optimization.
- Customer service.
The first, search engine optimization, was a specialty of mine. I had previously worked for a SEO company. At one point, sometime around 1997, I realized I had read every single article on the Internet regarding marketing. (There weren’t too many sites then!) But I knew most of what there was to know about search engine optimization.
With a few hours of work over a couple weeks, I had my site ranking #1 for two keywords people searched for: “bay area colocation” and “san jose colocation”. (Colocation is a type of web hosting.)
Even though those two search terms only accounted for about 100 visitors a month to my site, it was enough. I pulled in one contract that eventually netted my company over $12,000/month in revenue, and many other smaller customers as well.
The second–customer service–was harder. Some customers simply didn’t care about customer service–as long as the network stayed up, they were happy. Since they didn’t form an attachment to our staff, they tended to come and go.
But the customers who did care about our customer service spread the word. They told others that we had a real office where we could meet them face-to-face…where they could work on their equipment or share a pot of coffee with our staff…even an extra little office where they could plug in their laptop and work from our site for an hour or a day.
That we had employees who remembered their name and the names of their staff members; we were flexible and willing to work with them.
Make Referrals A Huge Part of Your Business
One-third of our new customers came in as referrals from other customers, even though we had no affiliate program or any way of compensating those customers. Our customers were just so amazed to find an oasis of real people in a tangled web of of technology and numbers that they spread the word.
Another example of great customer service showed up recently in the TV show “Undercover Boss”. The CEO of 7-Eleven, Joe DePinto, went undercover and masqueraded as a minimum-wage employee in his own company. His first stop was a store in New York that sold more coffee than any other store.
In the store, he met Dolores, the store manager, who had been managing this 7-Eleven for 18 years. Amazingly, she knew every customer by name. Even though the store was packed with customers, she took the time to greet each individual and have a quick chat with them. DePinto is blown away. “She’s like everybody’s mom or grandmother,” he says.
A customer reveals to him that Dolores not only has five children, but is undergoing dialysis twice a week while she waits for a kidney donor. In the meantime, Dolores is happily chatting up the customers, giving no signs that she has any health issues whatsoever.
“That’s why we’re selling 2500 cups of coffee a day,” DePinto concludes. “Not because we have great coffee, but because we have Dolores.”
I was touched by this story. Even in the most commoditized industries, the simplest things stand out: Remembering customers’ names. Unabashedly admitting your mistakes and fixing problems openly. Delivering high customer satisfaction.
Next time someone tells you “That’s been done before,” be proud. Because it’s been done before, a market exists. You can go into that market with a better product or better service and be extremely successful. And remember, you don’t have to have bigger numbers than the next guy, or beat his price. You just have to be better at one thing your customers care strongly about.
Recommended Reading:
- Watch the full episode of Undercover Boss online. I highly recommend watching every episode of this show. It’s a fantastic look into how some of the biggest companies work.
- How To Choose A Business. If you have “too many ideas” and don’t know which one to pursue, this post is for you!
- Beat the Big Corporations by Delivering the Best Customer Experience. Reveals one of the most common mistakes I see when people first start a business.
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25. February 2010 at 8:54 am
You’re so stinkin’ right, Erica, yet that exact phrase is what has killed many of my ideas in the past and continues to be a problem for me today.
I consider myself a highly creative person and something about me just yearns for an original idea. I feel like a copy-cat and it makes me feel yucky thinking about profiting from someone else’s idea.
However, the truth is that most of the people I’ve ever looked up to didn’t do anything truly “original.” They put their own spin on something that had been around for ages.
Being creative doesn’t have to mean doing something completely original. It can mean doing something, anything….better…by putting your own persona into it.
This is a huge part of my focus for 2010.
25. February 2010 at 9:19 am
Hi Tyler,
Yep, as they say, “It’s all been done before.” The media likes to popularize the folks who invent something new, but the truth is that most money is made by incrementally iterating a product and/or bringing a popular product from one part of the world to a different part of it.
Keep me posted on your new ventures. I’ve been watching you on Twitter and I’ll be interested to see what you come up with!
-Erica
25. February 2010 at 9:43 am
Thanks Erica, a video that related very well with this: http://quact.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/the-value-of-adding-value-to-your-proposition/
When you can’t drop price to compete, or to clinch the sale, you must turn to increasing the perceived value for the client.
25. February 2010 at 10:49 am
You are exactly correct, and this is why I really believe I can make at least the rent selling very small, highly targeted, very high quality information products at a premium price: $.50 to $1.00 per page, hopefully more. Possibly much more.
25. February 2010 at 12:11 pm
James–great video! And thanks for posting a link to Guest Post Secrets.
My only quibble is with your language “When you can’t drop price to compete…”
Value-building has to come first. Build the right value and you will not have to worry about price.
In the video in your link, the guy selling the speaker on speaking is using what’s called “criteria.” The statement is “Tell me what’s important to you about …” and then sell based on those features. Price then becomes irrelevant.
I may write a blog post about this, as it’s so important in sales.
-Erica
25. February 2010 at 10:50 am
Erica –
I saw that segment as well and thought it was wonderful. I loved Dolores humility – she didn’t think she was any big deal – how wrong she is.
Thanks for sharing with others who missed it.
If you think about it – is there anything that hasn’t been done before?
25. February 2010 at 11:01 am
Wow, this is what I call an inspirational story-post
I almost wanted to bookmark this article and read it later on, but two sub-headlines caught my attention like a magnet
“Do Your Customers Ask You to Compete on Price?”
and “How To Do the Same Thing As Everyone Else and Succeed Wildly”
and could not wait till next day to read it
Job well done Erica. Looking forward to the next inspirational story.
25. February 2010 at 11:17 am
This post will help many startups who hesitate a lot before starting any venture.
25. February 2010 at 11:29 am
This is such a great example. I was on a chat on twitter about corporate blogging and there were 2 individuals who were saying over and over how corporations are all about the money. While that is true of the VPs, the sales manager, etc. most of the time we as consumers encounter the clerk, the customer service rep, etc. aren’t usually thinking about how to drain your wallet. If they do a great job your impression of the company is great-just like Dolores and the coffee sales.
I completely agree that it has been done, but the most successful products are usually products that have small tweaks that make them different in some way.
25. February 2010 at 11:43 am
Nice points. One other thing that “it’s been done before” can tell you is that there is probably a market for what you are doing — a market that will embrace you if you meet their unmet needs.
25. February 2010 at 11:51 am
My sister and I call that “the same but different”. And I encourage people I work with in curriculum development or who ask me for advice in their chosen careers not to worry about being in the same field, but to be different in their approach, style, marketing, and value added! SAME BUT DIFFERENT, and it works.
25. February 2010 at 12:58 pm
Thanks. Every idea does not have to be original or new just done better!
25. February 2010 at 1:06 pm
Great post – it is something that scared me at one time – doing things that have been done before, but I’ve come to learn that theres a reason that we find so many places where there’s a Starbucks, a McDonald’s, A Burger King and a Wendy’s all on one corner – because that corner works – and them all being there builds more business for all of them.
But even though I don’t take anything I do as “fast food,” the same holds true – people go to niches where there is need…. and what’s important is, as you say, to differentiate myself, and make price not the issue because I’m delivering so much value. The people who want that value will come and buy.
Thanks!
Andy
25. February 2010 at 1:37 pm
Erica, Good info. as always. I’ve been racking my brain for months trying to figure out a spin on what I do which is not all that unique. I just realized that if I want to do something better, that is fill my customers’ needs, how about if I ask them what that is? What needs are not being met or not being met well? I guess it’s time for a survey! Thanks for stirring up the brain! Andrea
25. February 2010 at 2:26 pm
Ne’er a truer word were spoken! To take a phrase from Monty Python “Adopt, Adapt and Improve”, You can take something that’s been done and do it better and that can be a great selling point, there will always be the people who buy solely on price, but then there are others who value the connection.
I was having a conversation about this last weekend with some friends, I will always go to the same vendors at the market because they make a point of learning my name and having a chat whenever I come back. Humans are social creatures, businesses need to take this into account.
25. February 2010 at 6:03 pm
Everything has been done before- you just have to do it in your own voice. That is where uniqueness comes in.
Finding your own voice is the tricky part i feel, not the ‘new idea’
that new show is great. there are some lessons in there for everyone, no matter how large or small you are.
25. February 2010 at 6:19 pm
Your blog set me thinking!
Mortgage companies in the United States could use an emotive customer engagement exercise to talk to customers who are losing their homes. This can transform a traumatic event into a brand recall opportunity.
The art of making a real conversation is always cherished.
25. February 2010 at 6:43 pm
I love the last paragraph about you only to be better at ONE thing that your customer truly care about. It’s so true. We can’t possibly be spending time on every single thing and do it better than everybody else. Sometimes it’s about being able to laser focus on one single task and do it so well that everybody comes to you for advice.
I’m also inspired by the “that’s definitely been done before!” story. It’s so easy to be demotivated and feel like giving up when you see dozens and dozens of other businesses/blogs out there fighting for survival, and you’re just about to begin. Most of the time it’s just the mindset that will differentiate yourself from store next door.
I read your other posts about putting personality into your biz and make a multi-million dollar company out of it. It’s just wayyyyy better than a faceless biz (read: robot).
Thanks for the great ideas Erica!
P/S I will also watch the Undercover Boss, been wanted to do that just never remembered it (not a huge TV fan).
25. February 2010 at 8:29 pm
“we cant compete with apple…”
i say PFFT! to em (some saliva usually end up in their faces)
25. February 2010 at 8:49 pm
Saw the show it is great. I watch many of these type of shows and they just scratch the surface of what is possible.
I have many different project all unique to some extent. If someone tells me it has been done before my response is not the way I do it.
25. February 2010 at 9:09 pm
Top post Erica.
I totally agree with all of this, just because it has been done before doesn’t mean its being done right.
It reminds me of a Richard Branson book I read in which he spoke about his airline business.
BA was already running an airline and people tried taking them on and failed.
It had all been done before in terms of the routes and competition. People called him a mad man. But look what happened, a different approach and now one of the worlds largest airline companies.
26. February 2010 at 8:28 am
Erica,
Many people in life don’t want you to succeed; they feel it reflects poorly on them. Their lack of support, criticisms etc all show this.
I’ve become a little more thick-skinned and now just go for it – regardless of the flak I might get from others… you have to push on, it’s your business to succeed!
26. February 2010 at 8:54 pm
Erica
Right on.
I love it when people tell me “You can’t do that, it’s impossible.”
My answer is “Just watch me do it.”
I was told my one man design studio couldn’t compete with major advertising agencies in my town and market…so I didn’t. Some of those agencies became clients by hiring me to do some over flow work when they got busy or for smaller projects on a contract basis.
Pretty cool.
As far as thats been done before, thats because it usually works. Look at Saturday morning breakfast cereal commercials…they have notchanged much over the past 30 or so years except for the computer animation…but why are they all pretty mcuh the same? Because the commericals sell alot of cereal.
27. February 2010 at 1:09 pm
So. How goes the celiac battle? By now you’ve found lots of products out there—even in the wilds of Montana we are starting to see lots of things labeled “gluten free”.
Just found Kamut at my heath food store. Trying to eat the kamut berries is like chewing a mouthful of slightly softened bbs. So I recommend the kamut grains/flakes. They look like oatmeal, cook up like that but are slightly softer to chew than steel cut oats. Have a mild flavor like oats. But a good breakfast cereal diversion.
Thanks for the articles. I really do appreciate your insights. Cathie
3. March 2010 at 6:17 am
Wow, really great post. I’ve found myself saying that many times, but come to think of it, why did I assume that the providers were satisfying all their customers? Maybe they’re not happy with the solutions in the market.
5. March 2010 at 1:35 am
A really nice post. I am thinking of adding a phrase or something that goes like this: It’s been done before, but I can do it better. Or it’s been done before and I can do it again, but better.
5. March 2010 at 2:33 pm
Great post. The whole “hasn’t this been done before?” thing is often an attempt to undermine you by people who are afraid you’ll succeed.
The best come-back I ever heard was from Liam Gallagher of Oasis fame. He had allegedly trashed a hotel room, including throwing the TV out of the window (not clever, I know). When he was asked “hasn’t that all been done before?”, he replied, “not by me it hasn’t”. Although the subject of the conversation was mindless destruction of property, I couldn’t help admiring Liam’s determination to find fresh ways of approaching something that had been done by others many times before.
4. April 2010 at 11:34 pm
Hi Erica,
Cool post with some gems!
I like how you said “How to do the same things as everyone else and succeed wildly”.
You’re so right when you said you only need to have ONE competitive advantage over your competitors. Find that advantage and work hard to make it a benefit for your customers.
Nice post!
Welly Mulia
PS. I’ll be emailing you. Be on the lookout for that