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1-Page Summary of Differentiate Or Die
The Tyranny of Choice
Choice benefits consumers, but it makes work harder for businesses. With choice in everything from healthcare to restaurants to rental agencies, there is more competition because companies have to compete against each other everywhere.
Companies can’t make mistakes. If they do, their competitors will get the business and they won’t get it back easily. Companies that don’t understand this will not survive.
Differentiate or die means that you have to give your customers a reason to buy from you instead of the competition. You can differentiate in many ways, but it’s difficult to do so without stepping on some toes. Trying to be everything for everyone is not always the best approach.
Chevrolet used to be known for having good-value cars, but then they added a bunch of different brands and what does Chevrolet stand for now? Their ‘differentness’ has been lost.
If you ignore changes in the market, you could lose your competitive advantage. For example, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) missed out on the personal computer revolution and was slow to switch from big machines to desktop computers. As a result of hyper-competition fueled by choice, this problem will only get worse. Choice begets more choice.
Whatever Happened to the Unique Selling Proposition?
Rosser Reeves was a famous salesman in 1960. He wrote a book called Reality in Advertising, which explained the concept of Unique Selling Proposition (USP). According to his definition, every advertisement should tell what the product is and why someone should buy it.
- When advertising your brand, you must advertise a benefit that is unique to your brand. This will help customers shift their loyalty from other brands to yours.
Dare to be Different
Advertisers today don’t realize how important it is to be different and that consumers make their buying decisions based on differences between products. It may not be “cool” to offer the customer a reason to buy your product, but they like it when you do.
You can sell your products or services to different types of people. Some people are interested in new things, while others like the facts. Intuitives will buy something if it’s interesting, thinkers want proof and feelers respond well to personal stories. Sensors need hard data before they’ll make a decision. It’s important to combine these approaches when you’re selling something because everyone is unique.
USPs That Don’t Work
In today’s marketplace, it is difficult to maintain a unique selling proposition. Some ideas work and others don’t. Here are four USPs that don’t:
1. Customer service and quality are rarely differentiating ideas
These are not differences, but givens. For example, Summit Bank in New Jersey wants to serve customers better and says that it is reaching higher. However, this doesn’t work as an effective solution because the customer expects reasonable prices and good service. Furthermore, providing quality service does not guarantee either profit margins or customer commitment.
2. Creativity is not a differentiating idea
Rosser once noted that advertising has changed to be less clear and more vague. He said, “Puffery has been replaced with vagueness.” This is a disturbing trend because it’s hard to tell what product is being advertised.
Some people argue that to stand out, you have to create a bond with your customers. One of the most famous examples is Bill Bernbach’s Volkswagen ad campaign “Think Small”. He stressed creative differentiation in his ads and not just creativity for creativity’s sake.
