Stand out from the crowd by doing something new. Being ordinary does not rate when every business has competition willing to spend more than they can afford to win sales.

The only business that I can recall without competition was the business run by Vice President Cheney. . "None has benefited more than KBR, once known as Kellogg Brown and Root. The controversial former subsidiary of Halliburton, which was once run by Dick Cheney, vice-president to George W. Bush, was awarded at least $39.5bn in federal contracts related to the Iraq war over the past decade." ( Source FT.com )

Everyone else has to fight for Dollars not oil, so it is important to set aside some cash for marketing.

Many businesses are run by corporations with loads of investment cash that can be used to fund the best public relations campaigns imaginable. TV ads, Super Bowl sponsorship, product placement courtesy of Hollywood and kind words from politicians to boost their profile. Ordinary folks running a business with their own cash need to think differently.

Building a website and sitting back waiting for the cash to roll along will not be a winner. It may seem like "a good idea at the time" but it is a waste of time. People will not just happen along to a great website, be impressed and buy. They have to be hearded like sheep to a product or service.

Customers need to be directed to a website by external forces. That is where PR firms come in to the marketing picture. They can come up with good ideas to explore. They can also bring in some contacts to get spots in magazines, business journals, news reports, testimonials, social media, blog posts or something local.

Old fashion ideas like putting a canvas fence around a car yard that is normally fully open creates attention. Putting a jumping castle for kids outside a fast food store will work. Be different. These ideas are just metaphors for actually doing something !

Whether it is a one person trade operation, small business, substantial business or a major corporation, the operators must be different to stand out. Human beings are instinctively able to see color and movement. It goes back to the days when folks had to watch out for predators of the four legged kind or snakes of the no legged kind.

Doing nothing will not work. Some folks in the U.S.A. started a war to get new business. It is that simple. Business is war.

The author

Greg Rogers is the CEO of Rogers PR