Marketing Differentiation | #004

"Differentiation" and "positioning" are two of the most common marketing terms.

So how do they apply to your business?

This episode focuses on actionable and practical tips to help your business stand out from the crowd and away from the competition.  

• [02:02]

"In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible."

 " - Seth Godin

Why are customers going to pick you over your competitors?

Being different in the right ways has spawned new ideas, new companies, and new industries.

• Being average is the mark of a dying company. The world needs your creativity, insight, and inspiration.

"If a product's future is unlikely to be remarkable – if you can't imagine a future in which people are once again fascinated by your product – it's time to realize that the game has changed. Instead of investing in a dying product, take profits and reinvest them in building something new." -Seth Godin

Modern Marketing Meaning:  If a products future is unlikely to be remarkable, you're better off doing something else.

If your customers are confused and uncertain of why to choose you over someone else, your odds of success go down dramatically.

• [04:33] How do you make sure your business is remarkable enough to be heard above all other businesses?

Positioning: An effort to influence consumer perception of a brand or product relative to the perception of competing brands or products. Its objective is to occupy a clear, unique, and advantageous position in the consumer's mind.

 Business Dictionary

Modern Marketing Meaning:  How the customer sees you.

Where do you sit in the customer's mind when they think about a product or service that you offer?

It is crucial to be aware of your positioning and to know where you currently sit and where you'd like to sit.

This ensures you maintain consistency and you end up where you desire.

• [05:52] Differentiate to Dominate.

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth."-JFK

This can be applied to business.

With 28 million small businesses in the U.S. alone, fitting in is not going to be a profitable and long-lasting strategy.  [Forbes.com]

• [06:55] When establishing a form of differentiation, there are two big traps that businesses fall into.

1. Deficient differentiation: Not being different at all.

Born out of fear, resistance to change, uncertainty in a business's true value to its customers.

Find a way to clearly define the differences between yourself and your competitors or risk being seen as a commodity.

2. Defective differentiation: Being different in a way nobody actually cares about.

A common trap for businesses first trying to stand out from the masses.

Key point: See what customers value rather than finding something to be different about.

Identify what factors, traits, and benefits your target market values and shift your attention accordingly.

   "Being different is great, just make sure you're being different in a way that actually matters to your customers."

• [10:58] The key to differentiation and to standing out in your market place is to first know where you stand in relation to your competitors in regards to price, quality, and value or "positioning".

Next: Focus on the one thing your customers care most about that best aligns with your business and then go about making that your businesses primary driver, differentiator, and unique selling proposition.