Joe Pantigoso is an alumnus and a lecturer in the M.S. in Strategic Communication program, as well as Senior Director of Global Brand at SAP, a leading software company.
Most brand-builders learn that differentiation is a critical factor in successfully selling a product or service. But we sometimes forget that creating differentiation is not just about being different for difference sake but about being different in a meaningful way, creating “relevant differentiation”—differentiation that not only is distinctive versus the competition, but that has a tangible benefit for customers.
For example, my oldest daughter once boasted about a great buy she had made on Amazon. To decorate a party, she had bought 50 white bags and 25 different colored battery-run candles to go inside them. They cost her little money, arrived quickly to our door and transformed our backyard into a magical garden which pleased her guests. By contrast, she complained of balloons purchased at a specialty store that had cost her an extra trip and $6 a pack for five balloons that had lights inside that worked only half the time. She felt cheated and declared, “I don’t know why we don’t just buy everything on Amazon.”
Customer by customer, buy-by-buy, Amazon wins over loyal advocates by delivering on relevant differentiation—in this case, being the cheapest, easiest to acquire, and best working party-décor-provider for my discerning daughter.
A relevant differentiation checklist I learned early in my career was “first, best, only.” “First”, in years past, meant having gotten to market before anyone else with resulting claims to heritage and years of experience to offer. But today, being “first” means being known for setting the trends in your category, for being consistently innovative, and delivering innovation that provides a real benefit to customers. “Best” means having superior value, for instance being cheaper, faster, quicker—in
fact, being “the” cheapest, fastest, quickest. And “only” means you’ve managed to create something so unique that it can’t be found anywhere else.
Amazon hits each one of these criteria:
• First – with over 25 years in the market, for many, they are “the” gold standard for e-commerce, continuously innovating for their customers.
• Best – many of their customers swear by them, citing superior prices and convenience like in my daughter’s case.
• Only – Amazon has managed to combine so many offerings into one platform that few others compare.
Relevant differentiation—“first, best, only” combined with meaningful relevance—can create loyal customers and brand advocates out of folks like my demanding daughter.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any other person or entity.