I’ve mentioned my apprehension toward business “rules” or “laws” before but I didn’t really explain why I feel this way. When businesses base all of their decisions on another company’s business model, they ignore the personalization that is necessary for growth. What works for your store is not going to be exactly the same for your neighbors store. Which makes sense right? Even seemingly similar businesses who are equally successful have differences between them. What’s more, if success was as simple as following a rule book, wouldn’t everyone be the CEO of a profitable company?
I find this quote to be applicable to many aspects of life, including business. Just because certain marketing practices are common, it doesn’t mean they are right for your specific company. Just because many ecommerce businesses you know of use a particular software, that doesn’t mean it will fulfill your company’s needs. Being in tune with your company is key.
I think this advice is particularly important for companies whose growth has stalled. If you’ve hit a plateau and aren’t sure what tactic to use to pick up business, consider re-evaluating not only what your company is doing but why. If you find that certain practices are followed only because you think it’s the industry standard, maybe you should switch things up.
Below are three examples of people who’ve gone against the grain because it was best for their company even when it wasn’t the norm.
Derek Halpern Doesn’t Have a Search Form on His Blog
I was recently browsing one of my favorite websites when I decided I wanted to run a quick search within the blog. When I started to look for a search bar I realized there wasn’t one and I felt this must have been an oversight. The funny thing is, I didn’t even consider that maybe it was a deliberate decision to NOT offer a search bar, because well, who does that?
Derek Halpern, that’s who.
Marketer and entrepreneur Derek Halpern, proposes that if your blog doesn’t have a lot of content to offer readers, having a search bar can cause more harm than good. It’s a quick read that offers a new perspective on an old practice. After discovering Derek’s purposeful choice I’ve noticed more and more blogs that don’t offer a search bar.
Now, does this mean that everybody should forgo search bars? Definitely not, and Derek mentions this in his post as well. For some blogs a search bar is still a good idea. Heck, Appath has one! What’s important is that founders make conscious decisions about every aspect of their business and then have the grit to be different if the need arises. Maybe not having a search bar doesn’t seem like the most innovative idea, but innovation comes from making calculated choices and a willingness to be open.
Groove Remains Transparent Every Step of the Way
Groove, founded by Alex Turnbull, is a customer support software that currently is pulling in $57,289 of revenue a month. I know this because when I visit their blog the first thing I see is a timeline of their journey and a monthly revenue tracker. Their goal is to reach 100k monthly revenue and to share with their audience, for free, the steps they are currently taking to reach that goal. Alex is offering blog posts detailing their marketing efforts, as they are happening, in a candid and genuinely helpful way.
Groove is not the only company to decide to be transparent, but they are a great example of a relatively new startup that is sharing their journey as it unfolds. It’s easy to reveal your secrets after your company has become hugely successful, but it takes a whole new sort of courage to share your journey in real time.
The level of transparency a company has is a very personal decision and one that should be given considerable thought. Regardless of one’s stance on transparency, there is no denying the bravery that comes along with being so candid and open.
CopyBlogger Takes Comments to Google+ and Twitter
CopyBlogger is one of the most successful marketing blogs on the web with 8 years worth of blog posts and over 185k email subscribers. On most websites (including this one) at the end of a blog post there is the comment section. Over at CopyBlogger they ask that you take the conversation to Google+ or Twitter. And they don’t just mean “Hey, we’d love it if you tweeted at us, but feel free to comment below!” They mean “No need to scroll down further, you won’t find a comment box.”
In March of this year, Copyblogger announced they were removing comments from their site. Instead of using a traditional comment form, they encourage readers to discuss on Google+ and Twitter and on the reader’s own blog. Sonia Simone goes into detail about the factors that led to this decision and if she believes all blogs should follow suit in the announcement post, that I highly suggest you check out. (Once you’ve read that, be sure to listen to their 3 week update.)
A lot people were upset with CopyBlogger for removing the option to comment inside the blog. This was NOT a universally celebrated decision and still there is debate of it’s benefit. What’s important to take away from CopyBlogger’s choice is that they had their company’s needs at the forefront of their mind. They didn’t make this decision because they thought it would be a hugely popular idea, they made it because it makes the most sense for them. Their priority is their business and that’s how it should be.
Make a Conscious Effort
I think it’s safe to say there is never a “one size fits all” solution in business. Of course there are helpful practices, popular software choices, and immutable “laws”, but for the most part every company is going to do things a little differently and sometimes being different is exactly what a company needs.