Out of the Box

Trying Harder Instead of Being Number One

By Menachem Lubinsky on March 02 2007

To be Number One is without a doubt the preferred positioning for any company. The Number One company is automatically perceived as the leader in most cases. There are, of course, many examples of companies wrangling for that coveted position.

In the years before the car rental business was not as crowded as it is today, Hertz and Avis were at each other’s throats in an effort to be perceived as the Number One car rental agency. With the numbers clearly in their favor, Hertz’s slogan and subsequent advertising was a simple “We’re Number One.” But then Avis countered with “We Try Harder” and surveys actually found that consumers appreciated the slogan. Consumers were in essence saying that they would support a company that aims to please and would forgive the company even if it is not Number One.

America’s Cola war, of course, always comes to mind in the effort by two businesses to be Number One in their category. Even as it lagged behind Coke, Pepsi has always worked to create the perception that it is an equal to Coke and that the differences between them actually boil down to taste, with America divided equally between those who prefer the Coke taste and those who like the Pepsi taste. Of late Pepsi and Coke seem to be fighting the war by simply keeping stride with their competitor. If Coke comes out with Cherry Coke as a flavor, you can be sure that Pepsi would not be far behind. The goal for Pepsi is not to give Coke an edge with those people who are on their side when it comes to taste.

The marketing challenge for those companies that simply are not or will not be Number One is to be perceived as a leader even if their numbers are not at the top. One good way to accomplish this goal is to be an innovator, which will help give the company a profile as being the leader. Avis accomplished this with many consumer-friendly programs that made the public perceive of them as a leader. Companies like Avis tend to have many loyal customers for whom the leadership positioning is extremely important.

There is an interesting competition being played out in the auto industry. There is every expectation in the industry that the Toyota Motor Co. of Japan will soon overtake the General Motors Corp. as the world’s Number One automaker. This will mark a significant plunge in prestige for the American auto industry as it finally succumbs to the Japanese. Toyota already has overtaken the Ford Motor Co. to become the world’s second-largest automaker. It is well on its way to selling 8.5 million cars and trucks worldwide, edging close to GM, ranked No. 1 since 1931. If Toyota surpasses GM, that would have a profound psychological impact on the U.S. industry, one of the last manufacturing sectors where Americans still lead. It would also undermine GM’s ability to dominate the industry and buffet smaller players such as DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group with its price wars.

If you are GM, you might be planning for the inevitable by focusing more on your status as an American leading automaker than as the world leader. You are probably also thinking of some creative way to recapture the lead. But the road back to the top may be a very steep climb, especially since Americans believe that the Japanese build a better car than the Americans. It does not matter that GM has made great strides in improving the quality of its cars. This happens so often in marketing when the perception is not consistent with reality. That is why it is so difficult to change built-in perceptions. For whatever reason, the American car makers have had a very difficult time in changing the quality perception.

I often counsel clients who postpone dealing with quality that they may never get a second chance. My example frequently reverts back to a new restaurant that opens its door with less than stellar food. When the door opens, diners will expect good food, albeit that they might sometimes forgive lapses in services. While they understand that the kinks have to be worked out with service, they will be absolutely unforgiving when it comes to the quality of the food.

One marketer admonished a room full of marketing executive, by saying: “Look if you are destined to be the Number Two, get a life.” What he actually meant that it was time to create your own plan for growth ant to build your own image. Keeping a steady watch on the Number One without carving out your own brand can be devastating.

Avis convinced the consumer that being Number Two is actually not a position of inferiority. “We Try Harder,” they told consumers, meaning that they will do whatever it takes (i.e. price and service) to satisfy their customers. The surveys showed that the public bought it.

The slogan was an ingenious way of rubbing it into the Number One competitor and at the same tome creating a positive marketing message that can also be viewed as making an independent statement that we try harder, competing against our own standards, to please you.

If you are feeling a little bit better about being Number Two, that is a problem too. Every business should strive to be Number One and if that proves elusive, “You Should Try Harder.”

Out of the Box is a collection of strategic marketing articles that Lubicom has published on various topics, trends and ideas in the marketing world. The articles have been published in the Hamodia weekly newspaper circulated on three continents to a readership of well over 100,000.

The name, "Out of the Box" is a term used frequently in business nowadays to describe creative thinking that is not the norm. It is meant to help a business pull away from the pack or separate oneself from the competition. It is to some extent fraught with risk, simply because it is not the run of the mill thinking, but it is at the same time the key to reaching the next opportunity.