At Gazillion & One, we want to help you learn from history, not repeat it.

For years, marketers have been looking out into the marketplace to find the answers. Using research to discover what consumers want, they build elaborate marketing strategies and advertising campaigns based on their findings. On the surface it seems wise — give consumers what they want and success will follow. But their strategies are doomed before they even get off the ground.

The problem with this approach is that your competitors are doing the exact same thing and getting the exact same consumer information. The result? Everyone in your industry is essentially creating the same marketing strategy in response to the same research. Everyone launches expensive advertising campaigns trying to convince consumers that they do exactly the same thing as the next guy (only better, of course). As you attempt to compare yourself to the competition, the more consumers experience "brand blur" — the inability to distinguish one brand from the next. Without a compelling point of difference, consumers are left to make their decision based on price. Whoever is offering the lowest price, the best interest rate, or the coolest giveaway that week gets the business. And you, my friend, are on your way to becoming a commodity.

Consider another approach. Instead of getting lost in the crowd, find those attributes that make your organization different from the competition. Starting with those unique qualities as your foundation, you can begin to carve out a place in the market where you have the advantage — and can demonstrate leadership.

Since 1990, Gazillion & One has been working with organizations like yours from the inside out. Our style is collaborative, our approach is diagnostic, and our strategies are one-of-a-kind. Based in Grand Haven, Michigan, along the Lake Michigan shoreline, we work with credit unions and schools throughout the U.S.