Is your differentiator actually different?

For most B2B service companies, that answer is a resounding NO.

Caring about your customers, doing a deep discovery dive, providing ongoing support, responding quickly, providing a single source of truth, genuinely delivering results, and employing AI all sound good.

And are some of the most common "differentiators" I hear from marketers and CEOs.

But none of those meet the qualifications for being a differentiator, because any business could (and often does) say those same things.

What Qualifies as a Differentiator?

A differentiator is something you do exceptionally well that your ideal customers want or need and your competitors can't or won't copy.

It's often found in the things you do:

• Methodology: Your unique way of tackling a problem.
• Processes: The specific steps you take to tackle that problem.
• Operations: The individual processes you follow internally.
• Deliverables: What you hand over to your clients.

Start there when trying to find your differentiator.

But understand that just because you do something different doesn't mean it's a differentiator.

I could dress up as a clown for every workshop I run.

No other brand strategist on the planet does that. If I did, I would truly stand out and be different.

But doing something different is only one-third of the equation.

Your customers have to want or need your differentiator. Meaning, it should be compelling enough for them to pay for.

Take a B2B photographer we worked with last month.

He tried to say that his differentiator was that he could make anyone feel comfortable in front of the camera, even if they hated being photographed.

That sounds good, but it fails the "customers want or need" requirement.

His clients expect him to get the shot. Making the subject feel comfortable is a nice-to-have, but not an "I will pay more for that" differentiator.

Your differentiator also has to be something your competitors can't or won't do or say.

If your competitors can do it, or even just claim they can, it's not a differentiator.

Take the "we care about our customers" claim.

Even if you actually are the only one among your competitors that actually cares, other businesses will still say they care.

So to your ideal customers, you all sound the same.

The reason is that "we care" is incredibly vague. Visitors to your website have no clue what "we care" means.

Does it mean you just tell me to have a blessed day when I come to your office? Does it mean you solve my problem and give me a discount? Does it mean you respond to emails within 10 minutes? Does that mean you're sending me a $10,000 check on my birthday?

Any business can say it cares because no one knows what that actually means.

A differentiator is something you do that your ideal customers want or need and your competitors can't or won't copy.

Find that thing.

Testing Your Differentiator

So, how do you know if the thing you claim as a differentiator is actually different?

Run the Opposite Test.

It's ridiculously easy — take your differentiator and ask yourself:

Is the opposite of this differentiator a valid reason to buy?

A differentiator should present an option to the market, giving customers the ability to choose your way or your competitor's way of solving their problem.

Take Tesla.

They entered the EV market with a different methodology and a different offer.

Until that point, the EV market was saturated with low-cost sedans.

Most were boring, slow, and often ridiculed. When the first Toyota Prius hit the market in 1997, there were countless jokes about the types of people (men, in particular) who drove them.

All those manufacturers were focused on mass appeal — start with the average person's vehicle and budget and expand from there.

Tesla flipped that methodology. They started with an expensive, stylish, and fast sports car, the Roadster.

Elon's methodology: start with the wealthy, make a lot of money, and then work your way down to the average consumer.

That methodology is a differentiator because it presented a choice. You could either buy a low-cost sedan or an expensive sports car.

Run the Opposite Test

Here's how to run the opposite test.

1. Put 3 columns on a sheet of paper
2. Add your differentiator ideas in the first column
3. Write down the opposite of each differentiator in the second column
4. Answer whether that opposite is a viable reason to buy and why in the last column

Here's how it might look for some of the most common "differentiators" of B2B service companies:

Now you see why "we care" is not a solid differentiator — no one in their right mind is searching for a business that doesn't care about them.

It's a basic expectation when giving you money.

Own Your Differentiator

Once your differentiator passes the Opposite Test, it's time to turn it into a position you can own in the market.

Your offer, message, identity, design, experience, marketing, content, sales, operations, price, and even who you hire should all be driven by that differentiator.

Find ways to communicate it in every interaction someone has with your business.

That's how you own a unique position in the market:

You do something your ideal customers want or need and your competitors can't or won't copy, and wrap your entire business around that ONE thing.

Easier said than done.

Still struggling to uncover your differentiator?

Book the Brand OS with us. We'll uncover the thing you do that's actually different and build an operating system to help you own that position in the market.

I'm only taking on 2 more clients this year, though, so don't wait.

Until next week,

#SassyJason out.

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