Separate from the pack to achieve business marketing success

Basing a small business advertising campaign on the "me too" approach dooms your company to failure, according to a recent article by business-to-business marketing professional Kevin Levi, writing for Small Business Branding.

As Levi puts it, "Me-too brand positioning is not worth the paper it is printed on. Throw it out, forget about it and find a more distinguishing way to differentiate your business."

It's worth noting that casting aside me-too marketing altogether might not be appropriate for every business, as it's a good way of leveling the playing field and assuring prospective customers that your offerings measure up to those of competitors.

However, if you're relying too much on buzz words such as "industry leader" and "easy to use," you're not advertising your business or product to its full potential. Find a way to stand out from the crowd by identifying what it is that makes what you're offering unique and then capitalizing on that.

In a recent article for All Business, Brad Shorr, director of content and social media for Chicago-based internet marketing firm Straight North, recommended repetition and consistency in branding efforts to help get the company's message across in a sharp, focused manner.