The (Unfortunately) Secret Way to Beat Your Competition

So here's the thinking: Let's be really good at what we're doing. A slightly better mix of the same songs as everybody else, maybe a slightly better batch of talent, slightly newer (or more familiar) songs, maybe a tad more local, and maybe a different mix of the words "Positive and Encouraging" than the other guys.

In essence, you become a tiny bit better in the ways that all your competitors are already pretty good. Thus, your slim advantage is almost undetectable (if having an advantage there matters to the audience at all), and what seems to you like differentiation strikes the audience as just more of the same.

Sound familiar?

Enter Rory Sutherland.

He's one of my favorite "out of the box" creative thinkers. He's also vice chairman at advertising giant Ogilvy UK.

He talks about a concept he calls "reverse benchmarking." It means looking not at the strengths of competitors and trying to outdo them, but evaluating their weaknesses - the things that disappoint or frustrate their fans, or the things their fans wish their favorite brands did but they don't - and "doubling down" on those weaknesses to dramatically outperform the competition in ways the consumer will value and actually notice.

See this short video:

As Rory sums up:

This is not simply advice to "be different." It's a call to focus on things that already matter but aren't being well delivered or are being completely ignored. Guess what, your competition may not even know how much these things matter because they've never asked the audience.

Rory shares the story of famed restaurateur Will Guidara, who transformed his already successful Manhattan restaurant from #50 in the world to #1. He took staffers to dine at the world's #1 restaurant, and asked not "what are they good at?" but "what are they bad at?"

Guidara created a concept he called "unreasonable hospitality," an approach emphasizing that restaurants are in the business of creating memories and human connection, not just serving meals (by the way, so are radio stations in the business of creating memories and human connection. How often did you do that today?).

His philosophy focused on making guests feel seen, welcome, and a sense of belonging - three needs shared by every single one of your listeners and done well by very few radio stations.

One famous story: A table of diners mentioned a desire for a genuine New York City hot dog. Guidara went out and got one, plated it with toppings, and served it to the guests, who loved it more than any other dish on the menu that evening.

Above and beyond. Not "almost as good as" or "a little better than".

Surprise, don't simply satisfy.

Make your audience feel seen, welcome, and a sense of belonging.

And if you think that can only happen over the air, think again.