How do you build a Remarkable business, one that stands out from the crowd, gets talked about for all the right reasons and attracts loyal customers?  There are many methods you can utilise within your business, but it’s the principles that you should focus on.

Everyone knows that you’ve got to test and measure in business.  How else will you know what’s working and what’s not?  But if what you’re doing and what you’re measuring isn’t the most important standard to measure then it only gets you so far.  The chances of building a remarkable business are limited.

How do you know what to concentrate on, what’s going to work for your business?  With the amount of decisions a business has to make just on a daily basis, especially small businesses where the owner has multiple roles to play, it’s no wonder things get complicated and the important ‘to do’s get lost.  So what can you do about it?

I mean everyone knows that just because you’ve got a great product or service, it doesn’t guarantee any success.  Just because you’re meeting a need, doesn’t mean people are going to buy your product.  We all need to exercise on a regular basis, doesn’t mean to say that we do!

Then once you’ve got your product or service you’ve got to find the people who want what you have and then stand out from all the competition and convince them to buy from you.  You’ve got to compete on price, on product, on packaging, on placement ANYTHING to get the attention of your customer over the million other messages that are being thrown at them.

You can decide to reach them through so many different channels, networking, print, tv, radio, internet.  Each channel has a thousand and one options within themselves and all cost time and money, both of which are always in limited supply.

Seth Godin talks about the idea of constantly inventing your Purple Cow to stand out from the crowd.  The world has changed, we have far more choices than ever before, but less and less time to consider and make those choices.  So the Purple Cow needs to be invented, some thing that will make you stand out from the crowd.  But of course once people become accustomed to your Purple Cow, it becomes ordinary, so you have to think of another Purple Cow, and then another.  These are manipulations to get your customers attention.

And of course, all the while you should be testing and measuring, testing and measuring to see how effective your new product design is, how effective your new marketing tactics are, how your customers are responding, how your staff are performing, endlessly testing and measuring.

But what if we brought it all back to basics?  Seth Godin does talk about how marketing has changed, that you should now incorporate your marketing right at the start of your business, with your product and design.  That more money should go into making your product and service exceptional, so that other people will talk about it and create word of mouth.

In their own ways Simon Sinek (Start with Why) and Michael Gerber (The E-Myth) take it back a step further.  Michael Gerber talks about designing your life first, what do you want it to look like?  When all is said and done and it’s too late to change anything, what would you like people to say about you and your life?  Then design and plan your business around this, so that your business helps you to achieve your life’s aims.  Give you the time and money freedom to really live.

Simon Sinek’s theory is that you should Start with Why.  Why are you in business in the first place, what’s your driving purpose, how is that you want to serve people, change things, what is it you value?  For Apple it’s challenging the way people see how the world works.  So whether they’re producing computers, or phones, tablets, or the iPod, all of these products are in line with Why they are in business.

Apple is renowned for having loyal fans and customers, and Simon Sinek believes it’s because these customers also share the same value, the same drive to challenge how people see the world.  Apple stand out from the crowd to these customers because of this shared value.  Apple inspires people.

And going back one last step, Stephen R Covey talks about the difference between the “Personality Ethic” – where people are looking for the quick fix, and are looking to be “seen” to be something, rather than the “Principle Ethic” – which is a way to live your life.  So instead of being a politician whose image is Family Values yet gets caught with his trousers down – the “Personality Ethic”, by living the “Principle Ethic” you value Family and everything you do, in every part of your life reflects that, from your political views to your day to day dealing with your family and others.  People can see that and believe you’re authentic, it builds trust and loyalty.

By living the “Principle Ethic” people who share your values are naturally drawn to you, you inspire people and show yourself to be a leader.  You stand out from the crowd.

Therefore, to build your Remarkable Business

1) What’s important to you in life, what principles do you live by, what do you value, what type of legacy would you like to leave behind you, what’s your purpose?  For me it’s showing my son that he can live a full life, have big dreams and make them reality all the while caring for those around him, leaving the world a better place for being in it.

2) Really think about and define what sort of life you want to live – think about all areas of your life, be bold, don’t limit it to what you think you can achieve, remember we’re creating something Remarkable here.

3) Design your business’s products and services to reflect your purpose in life.  Remember for Jobs and Wozniak at Apple their purpose is to change the way people think, they do this through their innovative products.

4) Design your business systems so your business can work without you in it, leaving you time to live your remarkable life as well as run your remarkable business.

5) Ask yourself at every point is what I’m doing for my business taking us closer to our purpose or further away?  If it’s taking you further away, don’t do it.  If it’s taking you closer then do it.

By designing your business and your life in this manner, ensuring that everything you do is in line with your vision, principles and purpose you will build a Remarkable Business.  A Purple Cow of a Business that won’t need to be reinvented and use manipulations to stand out.  A business that will attract customers who share the same values, customers who will talk about your business telling others about it, a business that will create loyalty.

By staying true to your principles you will be seen as an authentic leader, those who share your belief will want to work for you, building a loyal employee base, who will share the same desires to drive your business forward and serve your customers because they share the same beliefs.

By testing and measuring everything againts this standard, then you will truly build a Remarkable Business.