What a 4-Year-Old at a Parade Taught Me About Standing Out in Manufacturing

You've probably heard the term unique value proposition. It's how your company uniquely solves a problem that a customer has. Why they should pick you over everyone else.

And if you get it right, it makes a massive difference in your sales and how customers perceive you.

I thought about this recently after watching my four-year-old absolutely crush it at our town's 4th of July parade. And yeah, I know that sounds ridiculous, but stay with me because there's a real lesson here for manufacturers who feel like they're getting lost in the crowd.

The Cedarburg parade is kind of a big deal. Over 30,000 people show up. Families stake out spots the night before with lawn chairs. The crowd is packed two rows deep from the curb, shoulder to shoulder.

We had about 25 people in our group that day, including nine kids. And for kids, the parade is really just about one thing: candy. Companies and organizations march by, handing out flyers to adults and throwing candy to the kids.

My son is the youngest in the group. Smallest. And in my completely unbiased opinion, the cutest.

As the parade went on, I noticed a pattern. When the candy throwers approached, all the kids would swarm together and fight over whatever handful of candy hit the ground. My little guy was having a rough time competing with bigger, faster kids. He kept coming up empty.

But the kid's got an advantage. He's cute. Really cute. And friendly. Those are legitimately part of his unique value.

Problem was, in a mob of eight other kids all scrambling for candy, nobody could tell. His strengths didn't matter when he was competing in a crowd where everyone was doing the exact same thing.

So I changed his strategy.

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Instead of standing with the pack, I moved him about five feet down the road. Away from the group. I told him to just stand there with his bucket. Smile. Wave. That's it.

The results were immediate.

The candy throwers would toss a handful to the mob of kids fighting at their feet. Then they'd walk a few more steps and see my son. Standing there. Smiling. Waving. Not pushing. Not shoving.

You could see their faces light up. They'd walk right over and dump handfuls directly into his bucket.

By the end of the parade, he had a grocery bag full of candy. All he did was smile and wave.

So what does this have to do with your manufacturing business?

Everything.

Most manufacturers I work with are standing shoulder to shoulder with their competition, fighting over the same handful of customers. They're quoting the same jobs. Competing on the same terms. Trying to win on price because they haven't figured out how to stand out any other way.

And it's exhausting. You're constantly grinding, barely winning enough business to keep things moving, and wondering why growth feels so hard.

The problem isn't that you don't have a unique value proposition for your target market. You probably do. The problem is you're trying to leverage it in a crowded marketplace where nobody can tell what makes you different.

You need to step away from the pack. AKA  Define your marketing DNA.

And the way you do that isn't by finding some gimmick or fancy marketing trick. It's by getting crystal clear on who your target customer actually is and positioning yourself directly in front of them.

Not everyone. Them.

Stop trying to be everything to everyone.

I see this mistake constantly. Manufacturers who think they need to serve every possible customer because turning down work feels risky.

So they quote jobs for automotive, medical, industrial, aerospace, consumer products. Whatever comes in the door. They take on projects that don't really fit their capabilities because "revenue is revenue."

And what happens? They end up blending into the background. Because when you're trying to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one in particular.

Your marketing is generic. Your website talks in broad terms about quality and service. Your sales pitch sounds like everyone else's. And customers can't figure out why they should choose you over the ten other manufacturers they're talking to.

That's the equivalent of my son standing in the mob of kids, hoping someone notices him. It doesn't work.

What happens when you actually pick a target.

When you get specific about who you're selling to, everything changes.

You can speak directly to their problems. You understand their industry, their challenges, their buying process. You know what keeps them up at night and what they're willing to pay to solve.

Your marketing becomes relevant instead of generic. Your sales conversations are easier because you're not starting from scratch every time. You can point to case studies and examples that actually resonate.

And here's the kicker: you stop competing on price. Because when you're the specialist, customers aren't shopping around for the cheapest option. They're looking for someone who understands their specific needs. That's you.

The companies I've worked with who figured this out? They're like my four-year-old with his bucket of candy. While their competition is fighting over scraps, they're getting approached directly by customers who want to work with them specifically.

How to figure out your target market.

If you haven't defined your target customer yet, here's where to start.

Look at your current customer base. Who are your best customers? Not just the biggest. The ones who pay on time, appreciate what you do, refer you to others, and don't beat you up on price every time.

What do they have in common? What industry are they in? What size company? What types of projects do they bring you?

That's your starting point.

Now ask yourself: if you could only work with customers like that, would your business be better or worse? If the answer is better, that's your target market. Go find more of them.

Stop wasting time quoting jobs for customers who will never appreciate what you do. Stop trying to win business in markets where you're just another option. Step away from the crowd and position yourself in front of the customers who actually value what you bring to the table.

The mindset shift.

A competitive marketplace doesn't have to be intimidating. It can actually work in your favor if you approach it right.

But you need two things: clarity on who you serve and the confidence to say no to everyone else.

When you've got that, you're not fighting for scraps anymore. You're the obvious choice for a specific type of customer. And those customers will seek you out instead of you having to chase them down.

That's how you stand out. Not by being louder or cheaper. By being the right fit for the right customer.

If you haven't figured out your target market yet, you're still in the crowd with everyone else. And it's going to be a grind.

But if you step away, get clear on who you serve, and position yourself accordingly? You'll be amazed how much easier everything gets.

Especially your marketing, because your creative and targeting will get you 10x better results.

Want help figuring out who your target customer should be and how to position yourself in front of them? That's exactly what we work through in a Growth Engineering Session.

We'll look at your best customers, identify the patterns, and build a strategy to attract more of them.

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