The Red Dot

I was told this story by Rob Ryan himself, and it is in his book for Smartups. Rob may be one the most influential people who helped to create the internet we use today. He sold his company Ascend in 1999 in a $24 billion merger, which at the time was the largest technology merger in history. I have told this story hundreds of times and all businesses should understand its importance.

The Red Dot:

All living things have something about them they use to survive, humans use intelligence, turtles have their shells, lions have their strength and size, do zebras use their stripes?  

Researchers went to Africa to see what effects the stripes had on Zebras. It's hard to follow a single zebra in a herd, so they painted red dots on the sides of a few. The researchers set camp and would track them in the morning. However, by morning all the zebras with red dots were gone. So they painted some more zebras and again planned to follow them the next morning. Surprisingly, all the zebras with the red dot were gone again, they were dead and eaten by lions.

It turns out, like the researchers, the lions cannot follow a single zebra in a herd either. Normally lions must wait for the weak or young stragglers. However, the red dots allowed them to track a single zebra until they could take it down.

So, the question you want to ask yourself is, in your business, what is it's Red Dot? How can potential customers remember you, track you, and differentiate you from the competition? Businesses can all blend together too! 

All real estate agents claim they sell houses faster and for more money than their competitors. Restaurants insist they only use the freshest ingredients, with some even including "fresh" in their names—Baja Fresh, Chevy’s Fresh Mex, and Hello Fresh, to name a few. Small businesses, including as small as a gig worker with a Craigslist ad, can greatly benefit from promoting themselves using the Red Dot theory. 

In the ’70s, a car dealership featured memorable commercials with the owner, Cal Worthington and his "dog" Spot. What made these ads so unforgettable was that his "dog" was never actually a dog—it was often a lion or another exotic animal. That unique twist made the dealership hard to forget. He sold used cars cheap, with his unforgettable dog Spot and that red dot made him one of the biggest used car dealerships in America.

Similarly, Apple’s "Think Different" campaign had the perfect red dot. In 1997 computers were not user-friendly, and many people struggled to learn how to use them. Apple got the attention of the typical tech audience, and was even more appealing to the highest computer enthusiasts who were willing to invest the most in innovation and in being, Different. Apple made more money per unit than any other computer maker.

Red dots can be a slogan that stands out, like Apple’s, Think Different. Wendy’s Where’s the beef? If you need batteries, how about Duracell and that Copper Top Battery or the Energizer Bunny! 

It can also be what, or how you do what you do. You can make your small business appeal more by saying, When the boss is doing the work, the job is just better.

All these are different elements used to stand out, and all meet the red dot’s strategy of being easily identified in a crowded market and being remembered. Small business owners need marketing just like big companies do. Few elements can propel a business like finding a good red dot.