5 approaches to brand differentiation
Differentiate or die
If you are in a market where you have a ton of competition, where everyone offers the same kind of services, with the same features and benefits and offers the same transformation for their clients how can you stand out?
This is where brand differentiation comes in.
So what is brand differentiation? In short; it’s that what makes your brand different from your competitors.
Because if you don’t have a clear understanding of why your brand is different, there is a large chance your business will not survive. If you don’t show what you believe in, why you are unique vs your competitors, and really own that there is a chance your business won’t make it. You will never hear me say; this is the only way to do something because every business is different, and the same things don’t work for everyone.
So are there businesses that do well but don’t differentiate themselves all that much? Sure there are, probably because they have very local or loyal clients with a large network. But the most valuable companies know their story, why they exist and how they are the best solution for their target markets problem. Over time, what and how can change but the core why does not change.
In an earlier post, I wrote about ways you can make your business stand out through your vision and mission, your why or purpose and your values & beliefs. Because no one has the same vision, mission, purpose and values, skills, experience and story as you, you can combine all of this in your brand and make it stand out.
You’ve probably heard this quote from Simon Sinek. I love it because it makes it super clear why this is so important:
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
And this will, in turn, attract a unique audience that is attracted by what, how, and why you do it. But this is only 1 way that you can use when it comes to brand differentiation.
So let’s have a look at other approaches that you can take when it comes to brand differentiation.
The book Building Better Brands* uses 5 different approaches for brand differentiation. All these approaches have their own attributes, but you don’t have to stick with just one approach. You can combine elements from the 5 different approaches, as long as you have one of them as your main point of brand differentiation that you use in your marketing, your copy etc. This way, you will be known for that 1 thing by your audience. And when working or interacting with you, they will notice the others.
Brand Differentiation Option 1: Assets -What you own and control
This is related to attributes that you can factually claim. This can be:
Years in business
Awards
Number of clients
Certifications
You have probably seen other business mention that they have had over 200 satisfied clients, that they have been featured in a magazine or other type of media that is relevant for their niche or that they have been in the field for 10+ year. This could also be an approach that you trademark, as this is something that you own and have earned over time.
Brand Differentiation Option 2: Offer - Your products and services
This is related to the products and services that you offer, the price point and the quality of these products and services. This can be:
Premium
Good value
Cheap
Services that only apply to a certain niche
Number of variation with the services or products
One-stop-shop/full-range offer
You could think of this as where one designer might offer a logo only package another might offer identity design and another brand design. They all have different elements included and will also have different price points. But even with these variations, it is difficult to differentiate yourself based on this as a service-based business.
Brand Differentiation Option 3: Approach - How you do things
This is related to attributes to your approach when it comes to working with clients or your services. This can be:
Collaborative, approachable, reliable, innovative
Insert continent, country, state-based
Limited availability to serve well
Use of proprietary methods
Your customer service
You have probably seen other business mention that they only work with 2 clients per month to serve their clients well or that they have proprietary methods for launching or running ads. But you can also be your unique approach when it comes to the creative process. Or because you have a unique process that always leads to great results for your clients.
Brand Differentiation Option 4: Skills - The skills you apply
This is related to your experience, expertise and skills. This can be:
Industry experience
Specialised experience
Proven/licensed
Certifications
As you can see, there is some overlap between the different approaches as industry experience is also a part of assets. With specialised experience, you can think of offering only one website platform or illustration, as not every graphic designer can also illustrate. Here you can really go into what makes you unique. What do you bring to the table that no-one can say?
Brand Differentiation Option 5: Mission- The ideals that drive us
If you want to know more about this approach, you can read the blog, I wrote about this for the brand foundation series
Additional questions you can use to determine how you can differentiate.
Now you know which ways you can use brand differentiation, I want to add a couple of questions that you can use to decide which way you want to go.
I want you to think about what you don’t want to be. Sometimes turning around the question can give you so much information.
What do you not want to be positioned as?
What annoys you?
What do you dislike or hate?
What do you stand against?
As an example, I have a client that is an Eating Psychology Coach and uses EFT (tapping) as part of her approach. So when we talked about this, she said she did not want to be known as a nutritionist, a health coach, or just a weight loss coach. Because she does so much more than give a meal plan. She has a 360-degree approach to what might be holding back your weight loss. So this gave us great insights that her approach should be a large part of her brand differentiation that would come back in her content and website copy.
How do you feel about your current positioning? Do you feel like you are really standing out?
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