The Purple Cow concept, coined by marketing expert Seth Godin, is a unique approach to marketing that encourages businesses to create products or services that are so remarkable they stand out like a purple cow in a field of brown cows.
It’s about creating something that’s not just different, but so inherently noteworthy that it compels people to share and talk about it.
In a world where consumers are bombarded with advertisements and marketing messages, the Purple Cow concept argues that it’s not enough to create a good product with great advertising. Instead, the product or service itself must be innovative and remarkable.
Let’s delve into the steps to create a Purple Cow strategy:
- Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Your USP is what sets you apart from your competitors. It’s the unique value you offer to your customers that they can’t get anywhere else. To identify your USP, think about what makes your business unique. What do you do better than anyone else? What unique value do you offer to your customers?
- Understand Your Target Audience: To create a product or service that’s truly remarkable, you need to understand your target audience. What are their needs, wants, and pain points? What do they value? What motivates them to buy?
- Brainstorm Ideas: Once you’ve identified your USP and understood your target audience, it’s time to brainstorm ideas. What can you create that’s not only unique but also valuable to your target audience? Remember, the goal is not to create something that’s just different, but something that’s both different and valuable.
- Test Your Ideas: Once you’ve come up with a few ideas, test them out. Get feedback from your target audience. What do they think of your ideas? Do they find them valuable? Would they be willing to buy?
- Implement Your Idea: Once you’ve tested your ideas and found one that works, it’s time to implement it. This could involve creating a new product, launching a new service, or even just tweaking your existing offerings.
- Promote Your Purple Cow: Once you’ve created your Purple Cow, it’s time to promote it. This could involve traditional marketing methods like advertising and PR, as well as more modern methods like social media marketing and content marketing.
Deal: Order your Personalised invoice Books now at amazing low prices
Now, let’s consider a hypothetical business case to illustrate the Purple Cow concept.
Imagine a company called “EcoTech”, a startup in the tech industry that specialises in creating eco-friendly tech gadgets. The market is saturated with various tech products, and most companies are selling similar items.
How can EcoTech stand out?
EcoTech decides to create a line of tech gadgets that are not only high-performing but also made entirely from recycled materials.
This is their Purple Cow – a product that is not only functional and high-quality, but also aligns with a growing consumer trend towards sustainability and environmental consciousness.
To promote their Purple Cow, EcoTech uses social media to share stories about the creation of their products, the benefits of using recycled materials, and the impact of e-waste on the environment.
They partner with environmental influencers to get the word out and even start a campaign where customers can send in their old gadgets for recycling in exchange for a discount on EcoTech’s products.
In this way, EcoTech has created a product that is not only unique and remarkable but also deeply connected to their brand values and mission. They’ve created a Purple Cow that stands out in the crowded tech market and captures the attention and interest of their target audience.
By following the Purple Cow concept, businesses can create products or services that are not just different, but remarkable.
This not only helps them stand out in a crowded market but also creates a strong brand identity that resonates with their target audience.
