Differentiation Strategy Defined

Your differentiation strategy is an integrated set of action designed to produce or deliver goods or
services that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them. It call for you to
sell nonstandardized products to customers with unique needs.
Three Parts of Your Differentiation Strategy

1. Positioning: Have a simple idea that separates you from your competition

2. Trust Building: Have the credentials or the product/service that makes this concept real and
believable.

3. Awareness Creation: Build a program to make your customers and prospects aware of this
difference.

Why Differentiate?
The concept of being unique of different is far more important today than it was ten years ago. The key to
successful marketing and competing is differentiation.
Hypercompetition is a key feature of the new economy. What used to be national markets with local
companies competing for business has become a global market with everyone competing for everyone's
business everywhere. With the enormous competition markets today are driven by choice - your
targeted customers have too many choices, all of which can be fulfilled instantly. Choosing among
multiple options is always based on differences, implicit or explicit, so you ought to differentiate in order
to give the customer a reason to chose your product or service. Thus, "differentiation is one of the most
important strategic and tactical activities in which companies must constantly engage. It is not
discretionary".1

Make the Competition Irrelevant

Create differentiation within your own products or services. If you have an assortment of products or services to offer,
you may have identified your differentiation already. Common examples of differentiation for products may be based on
size, speed, color, components, combinations or accessories. Common examples of differentiation for services include
speed, performance, quality, responsiveness, availability, ease or integration. If you are in the unique position of having
only one product or service to offer potential customers then you should consider accessories, partners or other options
to create a variety of levels from the perspective of your future customers. If all else fails, you can offer different levels of
shipping speed or delivery...

Blue Ocean Strategy: 6 Principles

Blue Ocean Strategy is about revolutionary value innovation
The six principles drive the successful formulation and execution of Blue Ocean Strategy. These
principles attenuate the six risks... More

Customers for Life

By: Brian Tracy
The two most important words to keep in mind in developing a successful customer base are Positioning and
Differentiation.
Differentiation refers to your ability to separate yourself and your product or service from that of your competitors. And it
is the key to building and maintaining a competitive advantage. This is the advantage that you and your company have
over your competitors in the same marketplace – the unique and special benefits that no one else can give your
customer... More

Providing Customers with More Value-Added (MVA)

As Michael Hammer puts it, "MVA means that you give the customer more, perhaps far more, than you
ever have before. It goes beyond simplifying your customers' interactions with you to delivering solutions
to your customers' problems, of which your products and services in their native forms are but small
pieces... You can visualize the principle of MVA as a ladder with your product at the bottom and the
solution to your customer's problems at the top. The more help you provide your customers to fill that
gap, the more value you add to them, which, of course, differentiates you from your competitors who are
still scrambling around at the bottom of the ladder. Also, it is to your advantage to control as much of the
ladder as you can – customers will be less likely to abandon you in favor of someone else, lower down
the ladder, who offers less value. At the same time, your opportunity for margin and profit increase."7

Keys To Branding Your Growing Business

Logo: Your company's symbol A logo is a distinctive symbol or mark that visually represents your company. To get one
that passes muster with the quality police, I recommend hiring a design firm. Because your logo is one of the first visual
brand elements your buyers see, put some time and money into it. If your logo will appear on fax cover sheets, fax it to
yourself. If it will appear on billboards, enlarge it to 5 feet and see what it looks like (don't laugh, I actually did this for a
client). Put your logo through the quality checking paces before you use it. You will be glad you did... More

Case in Point Ten3 Business e-Coach

We invented business e-coaching in 2001. By 2005, we had customers in 75 countries due to the
innovative value the e-Coach creates for people for in life and business.
An artful differentiation strategy is an integral part of this success. Differentiating statements of the Ten3
Business e-Coach were designed to connect to different types of people – sensors, intuiters, thinkers, and
feelers.
The logo of the Ten3 Business e-Coach, a core component of the Ten3 branding and differentiation
strategy, was designed to meet the following criteria:
 • reflect the spirit of the Business e-Coach

• be symbolic and intuitive

• be distinctive

• catch eye

• stay in memory

• connect to different cultures

• be adaptable...More

Case in Point Ten3 Business e-Coach and Ten3 Design for Ten3 Licensed Trainers
We at Ten3 Business e-Coach and Ten3 Design help our Licensed Trainers to be different. Ten3 Design
uses inspirational ideas from Ten3 Business e-Coach to create a choice of Wisdom, Happiness, and
Leadership products. Our Licensed Trainers can buy these branded inspirational products in our online
shop for their clients as memorable handouts. The products are cheap, the impact is deep. See sample
products below:
By the way, "The products are cheap. The impact is deep" and "Wisdom and Fun come together!" are
two differentiating slogans of Ten3 Design.

Market Leadership Strategies

The market leader is dominant in its industry and has substantial market share. If you want to lead the
market, you must be the industry leader in developing new business models and new products or
services. You must be on the cutting edge of new technologies and innovative business processes. Your
customer value proposition must offer a superior solution to a customers' problem, and your product
must be well differentiated... More

Creating a Niche for Your Business...

Six Inventive Thinking Techniques

Value Add In Your Products And Services As a Differentiator

Customer Service as a Powerful Differentiator...

Harnessing the Power of Psychology...

Differentiation – Step 1 in Building Your Brand...

Four Steps in Your Differentiation Strategy...

Customer Intimacy...

Increasing Customer Value-added through Virtual Integration...

Case in Point Changing a Business Logic by Canon...

Case in Point Amazon.com...

Case in Point Half.com...