Brand Builders Part 13: Do you Differentiate to Dominate?

What’s better, to blend in, so that you look and feel just like everybody else, or to stand out, so people can see you? I mean, really see you and notice you. I gotta tell you, if you’re in the middle of building a brand, you want to differentiate yourself. You’ve got to differentiate, to be able to dominate. You have to stand out from the pack. Think about if you saw a row of ducks, and one of them was white. That’s when it’s going to catch your attention. If you saw a bunch of yellow pencils, and one of them was a red pen. That’s the one that’s going to catch your attention.

Anytime something’s a little different, it’s going to get your attention. So, how can you be different? You don’t want to blend in, so, when you’re building a strategic brand plan, a big piece of that is going to be able to define your differences to let people know how you’re different from everybody else.

Now, that might go back to the four P’s, right? Price, product, place, and promotion. One of these things you may do differently than your competition, so that’s going to give you a great way to stand out. But it might have to be something a little more subtle. Something like a hotel that serves nice, warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It might be a business that uses all electric vehicles instead of gas-powered vehicles. There are so many different ways that you have the option to differentiate yourself. What are you going to do to stand out to really build your brand?