If you want your business to be successful, you have to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, no matter how different you think you are than everyone else, most customers and clients won’t see your business that way. You really have to work overtime to connect with your customers on a personal level to keep them coming back for more.

But, how do you get their attention! Here are five fun and unique ways to set your business apart from all the others.

Custom Animated Video

You’ve got a lot on your plate in this digital world. Your business needs a website and it probably needs a blog. You should have a presence on at least a few social media websites and you may even want to pay for ads on the internet. When done correctly, these methods can help your business, but they won’t set you apart from everyone else because that’s exactly what everyone else is doing!

Do something unexpected and create a custom animated video for your business. It’s great for B2B businesses who want to simplify what they have to offer potential customers and clients, but nearly any business can benefit from an animation when it’s placed on a website or uploaded on YouTube. It’s a great way to show that your business thinks outside the box and likes to have fun.

Unique Branded Merchandise

Branded merchandise is a great way to ensure customers and clients go home with your company name or logo. Unfortunately, most branded merchandise, like refrigerator magnets and ink pens, is forgotten before they even get home.

Hand out something different at the next tradeshow, meeting, or in your store like:

• Paper business cards imbued with seeds so they can be planted
• Beverage openers in unique shapes, like musical instruments or animals
• Swiss army pens that include a flashlight and a stylus pen

Think about what your business does and create a branded item to match. For example, a gardener would benefit from a plantable business card and a tech company could hand out stylus pens.

Create an Offer They Can’t Refuse

Most businesses have some kind of offer. It could be a discount, a points program, or a coupon. That’s not enough if you want to stand out.

If you want to stand out, you have to create an offer they can’t refuse.

That might mean a service that’s way easier and more convenient, as was the case against Blockbuster when Netflix came along. It can also mean an unbeatable guarantee. For example, Zappos wows customers by providing them with an entire year to return their shoes if they decide they don’t like them.

Think about the value you can offer customers depending on your particular business, then ramp it up to set yourself apart. Guarantee all communications are returned within a certain timeframe, host an unbelievable giveaway event for customers who walk into the store, or throw a flash sale at a crazy discount.

Create a Company Culture

Your company culture matters, not just for attracting and keeping great talent, but because it can also attract customers. With a unique company culture, you’re likely to attract a lot of press, which is essentially free marketing.

How do you create a unique company culture? It depends on your particular business, but you can consider eliminating time off and letting employees take as much time as they need, offering personal services to employees, like laundry and cleaning, or letting employees create their own schedule.

Do Something Really Weird

Sometimes, to get noticed, you have to do something really weird. Some of the most memorable marketing campaigns are the ones that don’t play by the rules.

Wendy’s is a great example of that. They are known for roasting hecklers on their Twitter account. Flash mobs are a popular, and always unexpected way, for a company to do a little marketing.

It doesn’t necessarily need to make sense either. You could choose to do something that doesn’t make sense at all, like Groupon did when they bought a pony for New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he visited their headquarters. Geico has centered their entire marketing campaign on this idea.

Don’t let your business fail because everyone failed to notice it. Use these ideas to stand out from the crowd and you’ll get all the attention you need to build a successful business that customers and clients come back to time and time again.