← Reads

Differentiation

noun

What makes your business the better choice for a specific customer, in a way competitors cannot easily copy.

Why it matters

Without it, customers decide on price, because price is the only difference they can see.

Two cleaning companies charge the same. One sends a photo checklist after every visit. That habit is the difference people remember and repeat.

Differentiation is not being different for the sake of it. It is being better at something a customer cares about.

Start with what you already do well and what your best customers praise. The answer is usually there, not in a new slogan.

Then make it visible everywhere: in your name line, your website headline, your proposals and the way you follow up.

Source: Michael E. Porter, Competitive Strategy (1980)

Where this shows up in our work

A brand sized for where your business is now.