Brands can get downright obsessed with their differentiators. But in most cases, they are wasting their time.
Here’s why.
“You need to define the brand’s differentiators!” is something we hear from the marketing world all the time.
“You need to be different to stand out!” they say.
Yeah, that’s terrible advice.
Being different for the sake of being different creates risk, which impacts the potential for people to buy from you.
Also, nobody cares about your tools, people, location, etc. They care about their problems.
So, how do you stand out in a noisy and crowded market?
First, you must be distinctive, not different. Vibe builds tribe.
Distinctive comes from your brand’s vibe and personality, how it communicates with the market and your audiences, how it shows up, what it’s wearing, the music it’s playing, and what the music-playing device looks like…
In other words, everything the brand and the people associated with it do and say sends a message; make that message authentic and real—and ownable, then own it. Because when you (as in the brand) are your genuine self, you have no competition because no one can compete with you on being you.
Second, be salient by way of your expertise and thinking. “Upgrade your grey matter because someday it may matter.”
Develop and lean on your thinking and methods, aka your intellectual property, derived from your experience and expertise. This is how you do business, how your methods are unique, and why they are unique and are proven to work.
The problems you solve are common, and there are a million options for your customers to find a solution. Make them want your brand to be the one for them by being distinctive from everyone else doing the same damn thing, then show how your methods beat the hell out of the alternatives, and lastly, make it super easy for them to buy from you!
I realize this stuff is hard to figure out and implement and can take ages to get right. If you don’t have ages to figure it out, I’m here to help. Contact me, it only takes a few months, then it’s “grow time” for your brand.
