Maybe even more refreshing than soda.

Case in point:

At an online business networking group I belong to, someone posted a comment about Jones Soda Co. doing a promotion where you can send them your photos to be placed on their soda bottles and even on the case packaging.

This fellow member also commented on the fact that he recently discovered the soda on product shelves at his local store and never heard of them before.  This surprised me.  But I digress…The photo submissions stuff isn’t very new, in fact Jones has been doing this for some time.

But why do they do this?

They exist to be different. To be outrageous.

Their first exceptional difference is the quality of the product. They only sweeten the soda with real cane sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup, which most sodas contain. The cane sugar is more natural and probably better for us, anyway.  You don’t see Coca-Cola and Pepsico doing this with their sodas!

They also differentiate by not using cans or plastic bottles, but glass bottles for their products, which are more eco-friendly.

Finally, they are different in that they follow a very different beat, than many other soda companies (or any companies, for that matter) do.  For example.

This fellow at the online networking group, having never heard much about Jones before, found a YouTube video of people tasting the various strange flavors of soda that Jones created in the past, for Thanksgiving (turkey, gravy, etc.) and exclaimed in his post how absurd he thought it was for a soda company to do that, asking how that could even be  profitable.

Well, it certainly was.  When Jones Soda came out with the Thanksgiving holiday flavors, they not only pushed the envelope with the concept, but it also turned out to be a hot collector’s item, as they were a limited edition.  I’m sure the flavors were gross, but they were obviously safe to drink, or else they wouldn’t produce them.

But why would a soda company would purposely make atrocious flavors? Because they are a cutting-edge business.

The flavors were certainly different! But the bottling/packaging of the product, the photo submissions/marketing factor, the ingredients, even the attitude of the company…all stand out from the competition.

Being different, doing the unexpected, being unusual is good for business!  I’m surprised this fellow even had to ASK!

Differentiate yourself, be on the cutting edge! But make sure it’s true to who you are as a brand and product/service.

Call me crazy, but I would sooner buy a non-essential product or service (especially for fun or entertainment) from a guy who said goofy things and sported a blue mohawk, than someone who was straight-laced and bored me to death with his speil.

How do you, as a business owner, differentiate? Do you do things that are considered off-center, non-traditional, or even perhaps, strange, to be noticed and get business?

Copyright © Bobbi Jo Woods - published June 21, 2009 at http://www.webprospeak.com

About the author:
Bobbi Jo is the owner of B. Woods Design, a St. Paul Web Design company - http://bwoodsdesign.com