Don’t be a Commodity

When an economist talks about a commodity, he or she generally means a good that possesses a few key qualities:

1. Produced and/or sold by many different companies
2. Uniform in quality between companies that produce and sell it.

Basically, you can’t tell the difference between one company’s product and another’s.

When something is viewed as a commodity, it generally means that the only difference is the price tag. And so the concept of a commodity can really be applied to any business, product or service when differences become small and competition is all about cost. Your customers then become ambivalent about which they choose, because there are a number of choices good enough for their purposes, and if it doesn’t work out — well, who cares? Because there is another “you” right around the corner.

Lately, it seems like everyone and everything is a commodity, or at least acts like one. These days, the challenge is finding a way to provide quality within an acceptable price range and, at the same time, to stand out from the rest. At times, that’s a tall order. But the fastest way to be treated like a commodity is to behave like one.

And if people believe you are a commodity, they are going to treat you as if you are expendable and easily replaced. It is not enough these days to be simply as good as all the rest, because there are too many “all the rests” out there, and they’re more and more readily available. In this fast-paced, disposable and competitive marketplace, every product and service must differentiate itself. You have to give people what they expect, and then offer something more.

The bottom line is that we all need to continuously find ways to be unique. If you truly believe you aren’t a commodity, find out what differentiates you from the rest of the commodities and run with it.

But most importantly, don’t allow yourself to be treated like one.