There are a dozen laundry places on my street. Each of them has, more or less, the same sign: “Laundry—1 Kilogram—$1.”

That’s all they say, and all the shops look pretty much the same. They’ve got a front counter, some laundry hanging in the back, and a pleasant-looking person working.

One store stands out. We noticed it the day we arrived. We’re having it do our laundry.

In a sea of “Laundry—1 Kilogram—$1” signs, the store added two words that caused us to question the reliability of every other laundry shop on the street.

Its sign says “Laundry—1 Kilogram—$1,” and down below, it says “Clean Water.”

What’s the deal? Do the other places do their laundry in dirty water? We’re in Siam Reap, Cambodia, and we don’t know much about the water. The marketing on this street is aimed at visitors like us. What do we know about Cambodian water? Nothing. Do they have spigots here for hot, cold, and dirty?

Of course, all the laundry shops use clean water. You wouldn’t be in the laundry business for long if you didn’t clean the clothing. So what’s with the “Clean Water” sign?

The sign is designed to do exactly what it’s doing. It’s causing us to question all of the other shops and bring our laundry to the clean water place. It’s working.

Schlitz Beer is famous for doing something similar. Back in the 1920s, all the beer companies were pushing the word “PURE.” Schlitz decided to emphasize something different. It went with the tagline “Schlitz beer bottles: Washed with live steam.”

Suddenly, customers wondered about the competition. Were their beer bottles dirty? Lots of customers decided to go with the clean bottles and bought Schlitz. Schlitz moved from fifth place to first in the blink of an eye.

Of course, what Schlitz didn’t mention is that all the other beer companies also steam cleaned their bottles. Even in the ’20s, clean bottles were standard operating procedure.

How to Take the Unbeaten Path With Your Marketing

Educating your prospective clients about something you already do is a tried-and-true marketing approach. The thing you emphasize doesn’t have to be something unique to your practice. It can simply be something you’re doing that no one else is emphasizing.

Lawyers go to great lengths to stand out in the market. Many desperately work to stand out from the “excellent,” “affordable,” “caring,” “professional” crowd.

In the effort to differentiate, we often create a special offering. We add mental health services to our family law practices. We productize. We incorporate unbundled offerings. We bring an accountant or other experts in house.

Maybe you don’t need to offer different services to differentiate.

Maybe you can offer the exact same service as everyone else.

Maybe you can emphasize some aspect of something everyone does that no one else is emphasizing.

The thing that’s special about you may be as simple as “clean water” or “washed with live steam.” Maybe it’s “Freshly Pressed Gray Suits and Shiny Wingtip Shoes”? What is there that you already do that’s important to your clients and that causes them to question the competition?

Give it some thought while your laundry is in the rinse cycle.