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Differentiate or Die: The '8 Minus 5' Ways to Differentiate

Tom Peters said, "The surplus economy has too many similar companies employing similar people, coming up with similar ideas, and producing similar products and services at similar quality and similar prices".  Just look at the smartphone market now and you'll know what Peters is talking about.  In fact, knowing this will explain why Samsung's Galaxy phones are not selling well this year (more at here).

If that is the case, how do we differentiate successfully?  From Jack Trout's best-selling book "Differentiate or Die", there are 7 ways to differentiate unsuccessfully:
  1. Creative Advertising is never a differentiating idea. This is because customers want information, not news
  2. Quality is rarely a differentiating idea.  These days quality is a given, not a difference. Even if your quality is good, how long can you sustain it in the face of onslaught from hungry competitors who come up with better and more advance features?  A good example is Sony TV
  3. Customer orientation is also not a differentiator, as everyone claims this
  4. Price is the worst differentiator. For how long can you stay at high price (like Vertu's handphone) or low price (like Xiaomi)?  Low price is only a differentiator only if you do things differently, like Air Asia. If you are a me-too vendor, low price means your price is too high!
  5. Breadth of Product Line is a hardly a differentiator.  For people like those that are good, and you only can be good if you specialize.  
On the other hand, the following 8 points are good differentiators: (for the top 21 ways to add value, click here)
  1. Being First, as people's minds only remember the first and ignore the second onwards.  
  2. Attribute Ownership is a strong differentiator.  Like Volvo's attribute of 'safety' and Apple's attribute of 'experience'.  
  3. Leadership is a good differentiator.  Humans always equate 'bigness' as good, so don't be afraid to stand out and be the leader.  Like we all know Microsoft is a leader in office software
  4. Heritage is a strong differentiator.  Like Ya Kun's Kaya Toast's heritage "Coffee Stall since 1944" gives people a strong sense of long history, which means more secure and established. Heritage could be the length of time you're in business and the character and personality quirks of the founder
  5. Market Specialist is a good differentiator. 
  6. Most Popular Choice is another winning differentiator. For we all have the herd instinct and like to follow the crowd.  Popularity can also be boosted by celebrity endorsements, industry ranking, tie-ins, market share and the most 'likes' on Facebook today
  7. How the Product is Made is one differentiator that you can explore.  For the more we know about something, the more we can passionate about it
  8. Being the Latest and Hottest are the final 2 strong differentiators that customers love.  Just look at the billboard charts and the latest comments on the newest smartphones and it's obvious what I am talking about.
In summary, either you are different or you need to compete on price.  Fighting on price is suicidal, for it is what Sun Tzu called in the Art of War as "Win the war at all cost.  Smart vendors fight on differentiation.  So to ahead and be different today!   For list of courses, click here. Related articles:
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