Consulting:
The Department of Differentiation
Whether you’re a solopreneur, a small-to-medium business, a Fortune 500 company, a not-for-profit, or an NGO, you need to be differentiated. You need to differentiate your brand, your messaging, marketing, and content, and even yourself if you want to stand alone and be noticed.
Differentiation allows you to determine the playing field your organization competes on. Instead of acquiescing to the status quo, you get to design everything to your own advantage.
When you're different than everyone else, by default, you either eliminate your competition from consideration, or you have an unfair advantage over your competition.
When you're different, people pay attention. Attention goes to things that are novel, that break patterns, that are surprising, that are unexpected. People remember things that are different. People tell others about things that are different.
So how, exactly, do you do this?
The Department of Differentiation is a consulting firm that specializes in helping organizations find out who they are and what makes them exceptional and then crafts the best possible way to tell the world their story.
Differentiation strategy has two phases: the strategy phase and the creativity phase.
The Strategy Phase
The strategy phase starts with introspection and evaluation. It's a process of looking deep into your own company, finding out who you are, what you stand for, what you're offering, who you're offering it to, and how you're offering it to them. The strategic process identifies where you are exceptional.
It also explores what other options your customer base has to choose from, and what the unique value propositions are for those competitors or alternatives.
The strategy phase uses these insights to define a playing field where your company can win, either by offering something others are not, super-serving a more specific group of customers, or any of a number of different approaches to building a business with a strong competitive advantage.
The desired outcome is a differentiated focus where your company stands alone, defined by your unique areas of excellence. Where there is no substitute because you're the only one doing what you're doing.
The Creativity Phase
Now that you know your unique playing field (thanks to your differentiation strategy), you have to let the right people know what you're offering.
This is where creativity takes over. You need clear, powerful messaging, marketing, and content that tells your unique story to exactly the right people.
This is where the mindset of earning attention becomes essential. What is the way to talk about your differentiated business in a way that people instantly understand? What is the engaging story you can tell about how and why you are doing things differently than everyone else? What are the right places to tell your story?
I am using the word "story" very deliberately - this is not yelling slogans. This is not interrupting or haranguing potential customers with a hard sell.
Your story is indeed a story. Returning back to the initial strategy phase of introspection, it's the story of who you are, why you exist, who you're serving, and the differentiated way you create massive value for those people. It's telling a story that helps your potential customer see their own world in a different way. Your story must also help them feel seen because your company deeply understands their needs and challenges.
Differentiation Pep Talk
Differentiation is not for the faint-hearted.
Why?
By definition, you're going to be doing something that is different than everyone else. You're not going to be able to copy others, compete as a commodity, or blend in.
You're volunteering to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight. In fact, you're stepping into a spotlight you've created.
You're taking a risk. You don't know how it's going to pan out because you're the first and only one doing it.
But... there is huge upside on the other side of that risk.
You get to double down on the expertise and experience that you already have.
You get to choose what defines and separates you from others.
You get to be the best in the world in an area of your choosing.
It’s fun to be the best in the world at what you choose to do. (And it also earns a lot of attention.)
Want To Get Differentiated?
If this all sounds interesting and compelling to you and your organization, I would love to talk with you about how we can help you achieve your goals and help separate you from the crowd.