Who’s who? 

There are a lot of web agencies out there. A lot.

Thankfully, there’s also enough work to go around that most of us can stay busy (I’m very much of the “abundance mindset”). But with clients having that many options to choose from, it can be hard to figure out how to stand out from everyone else.

I noticed this while house-hunting recently. All of them had bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, and a yard. But there were little unique things about each of the homes that helped me remember them specifically.

I’d say to my wife “the one with the big tree in the front yard” or “the one with the half-bath off the kitchen” — and she’d know which one I was talking about. There needed to be something unique about each house in order for it to burn into my memory.

Besides looking at houses (which, thankfully, I’m done with!), I look at a lot of agency websites (as part of running TAB and just out of personal interest) and I’ve noticed how many (including my own) are very “me too”.

Replace the colors and logo — and it would be almost impossible to tell many of them apart and know who is who.

And clients probably aren’t going to remember your exact shade of purple or be able to draw your logo from memory — so as they are browsing through agency websites there has to be something more to help them remember you.

Do you know what that is for you and your agency?

I’m the worst at looking introspectively, and I often feel like there’s nothing special about me. But the truth is, we all have a unique combination of characteristics and traits that make our agencies different… We’re just lousy at calling them out.

Here’s a list of questions I’ve come up with to try and pinpoint the things that make me different:

• What tools & technology am I best with?
• What kind of industries am I knowledgable about?
• What other jobs/fields have I worked in previously?
• What are my personal interests?
• What are some of my past projects that have been successful?
• What kind of soft skills do I excel at (communication, leadership, problem solving)?
• What are my own personal values/principles?
• Who is in my personal network? Professional network?
• What is my style?

If you were to write out answers to all these questions, sure, each one on its own might be really similar to a thousand other agencies…

But as you combine all these questions you end up with something that is uniquely you.

By identifying and genuinely celebrating our unique traits, we can be more memorable and more easily attract the types of clients who recognize and appreciate what sets us apart.