Yesterday I saw a man walking around downtown San Francisco.  His physical appearance was ordinary.  Slightly wavy hair.  Balding head.  Trim build.  Average nose.  He was walking a normal, steady pace.  So why would I take note of this average Joe?  He was wearing nothing but an orange reflector vest, bicycle shorts and a go-go gadget belt.  I don't recommend adopting this attire for your next business venture, but I started thinking, 'this guy has got something going for him.'  As a brand, he's no different from any other man out there.  He could provide the same service and walk down the street just like anyone else.  Yet, anyone sitting across the street, crowd watching, looking for that product or service, wouldn't pass over him as ordinary.  Here's a few thoughts on how some companies stand out from the crowd by being unusual!

Reinvent the wheel.

Question the way business is usually done.  Defy convention and innovate with better ways to serve your customers.  Ryan Air flies to and from many different countries just like any other airline.  What makes them unusual is their ridiculously cheap prices.  Normal airlines provide services such as free baggage checking, food, bathrooms and check-in.  Ryan Air disaggregates every piece of air travel in order to make prices cheaper.  They charge for each of these services.  Imagine paying $2 to pee.  Now that you're thoroughly outraged, imagine that your flight from San Francisco to New York cost only $10!

Take care of the small details.

I recently had a brainwave to get my girlfriends together to have 'karaoke-mehendi' session - an evening filled with Bollywood singing, music and henna tattoos!  My idea gained supporters yet even with all this enthusiasm, I need to take care of all the small details.  Such as hiring the henna artist, food, song list and the karaoke kit.  If my target audience is left to BYO-henna, this event will never happen.  Many brands are finding ways to take care of the details with mobile applications.  Tylenol PM’s free application, Sleep Tracker helps the sick log sleep hours and moods, view sleep history over time, create a sleep journal and get tips for better sleeping.  It's like handing tangible proof of Tylenol PM's effectiveness in a signed and sealed mobile package.

Hand over the remote control to your customer.

If you gave your kid a remote control car, would they be content to watch you play with it?  Whether it's user generated content, design layouts, or camera angles.  Give customers some kind of control over how they interact with your product.  Play nice with your customers and share!

User generated product reviews, customer service FAQs, and consumer generated forums are weak.  Customer engagement has been traditionally defined as this.  Hint: if this is the definition as defined by general public, it's average.  You and your brand deserves better.

What makes your service or product great?  Pinpoint that value.  Now how can you encourage customers to engage with it? 

Take Samsung's Shakedown as an example.  They pinpointed the durability of their phones as a value to their customers.  They encouraged their audience to interact with the phones' durability, by giving away free phones to those who participated.  This established a) memorable customer engagement and b) proof that Samsung produces durable, high-quality phones.

Can a customer survey do that?

Post your service/product value here!  Lets create a branded experience.