How to Identify Your True Brand Differentiator (When 'We Care More' Isn't Cutting It)
If I had a dollar for every business owner that told me their differentiation was “ we just care more” or “we just do it better” I’d be one rich woman. I don’t know when it became acceptable to only rely on the bare minimal of differentiators in business but it’”hs making everyone look, sound, and feel exactly the same. In fact, Gartner found that 46% of customers can’t tell the difference between most brands’ digital experiences. And that’s… very telling.
When everyone is saying the same thing, we have an ocean of “sameness” that feels like no one is doing anything different. When that happens, how can customers figure out which brand actually suits their needs? Spoiler alert: they can’t. By using the same “we’re different, choose us” approach as everyone else you’re making it harder on yourself and your clients to actually see the difference. But that’s ok, by the end of this post you’ll have a framework to uncover what actually makes you different - not just what sounds good in marketing copy.
What is brand differentiation?
Brand differentiation is the process in which business owners make their business stand out, sound, and maybe even look different than their competitors. This is the process of separating a business apart from everyone else in the industry and calling the brand “other” in some way Let’s break down what businesses are doing wrong, the solution, and a framework to actually get your differentiation figured out.
Your “difference” isn’t that groundbreaking
I’ve seen tons of service based businesses claim the most common differentiators thinking it will set them apart in a crowded market. The most common things I’ve seen are price, customer service, or quality. But who measures these things? If you and Mr. Joe down the road had the same business selling apples on the side of the road and both of you claimed to have the “best quality in town” - who’s right?
Claiming generic differentiators will make you invisible in your market. Why? Because everyone else is claiming the same exact thing. If you have 5 freelancers saying they have the “best process” who stands out more in the mind of the consumer? The person with the best branding? Or something else?
Whenever you aren’t strategic saying what makes you different you cost yourself and your clients time and money. Here is whats’ really at stake here if you don’t differentiate strategically:
You’ll be pitted against your competitors on price alone. If clients can’t figure out why you’re better at helping them then your competitors, they’ll go on whose cheaper every single time.
You’ll give your clients decision paralysis by having too many options to choose from and they’ll eventually have the “just pick one” mentality
You’ll be grouped together with everyone else in your industry.
Let me give you an example of how common differentiation works in the real world:
There are three law firms on the same street that all claim they can give you “personalized attention” on your car accident case. Firm A has a rate of $100 per/hr, Firm B has a rate of $250/hr, and Firm C has a rate of $125 per/hr. Besides these differences, everything else seems the same. Guess which firm potential clients choose to represent them? Firm A, it’s the cheapest. Plus they’re all lawyers, so the services must be similar, right?
If you’re not really sure if you have a unique differentiator, here are some ways you can tell if you might need to change it up:
Your competitors could copy and paste it on their website
It’s all about effort or attitude rather than outcome
You can’t prove it with specific evidence
If requires customers to “trust you” rather than see it
What real differentiation looks like
Differentiation isn’t about “being better” - it’s about being different. There are many ways you can tell the world how you’re different, but here are the big 3 categories:
Operational Differentiation
Operational Differentiation is how your systems, processes, or delivery methods are fundamentally different. Some examples of this are Zappos’ free return shipping, when at the time most competitors charged to ship returns or The Ritz Carlton’s "$2,000 per guest" employee empowerment policy.
This differentiation strategy works well because it’s hard for other companies to copy it without huge operational changes, it creates tangable customer benefits, and it often requires significant investment or restructuring for competitors to match. This means that if you’re not starting this business with this system in place, it’s going to take a lot of time, money, and effort to achieve this strategy.
Positional Differentiation
Positional Differentiation focuses on claiming a unique space in the market that competitors can’t easily occupy. Companies that fit this strategy are the Dollar Shave Club and Airbnb. The Dollar Shave Club focuses on creating great razors as the alternative to over engineered, overpriced razors from competitors (aka Gillette's premium positioning). Airbnb’s difference focuses on “belonging anywhere” - giving their audience a unique perspective, life like a local instead of the standardized travel experience a hotel might provide.
This differentiation strategy works because it gives you the “first” advantage in that specific positioning. This also will force competitors to either copy you (looking like followers) or give up on that type of market position. For example, when the Dollar Shave Club positioned themselves as the “rational alternative to over engineered razors” more premium companies could either copy the same narrative or completely stay out of that positioning all together. This strategy also creates a clear choice architecture for customers.
Philosophical Differentiation
Philosophical Differentiation focuses on core beliefs that drive business decisions. Companies that rely on this strategy are Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s. Patagonia only wants their audience to buy their products if they really need them, as opposed to the popular fast fashion trend of buying something new for every event. Ben & Jerry’s values using their business to give back to society, and the owners are often found at protests and public policy hearings backing up what they preach.
This differentiation strategy works because it’s the hardest to fake. You really need to lean into what you believe in to make this strategy (and stance) work. This also attract customers that have the same belief system and creates an emotional differentiation beyond features and benefits.
Most businesses try to be better at what everyone else does. Strategic businesses don’t do what others do at all.
The 5 step process to uncover your real differentiator
I don’t just want to tell you about how you need a unique differentiator, I want to help you carve one out of your business. Here’s 5 steps on how to find your own difference.
Step 1: Competitor Analysis
List 3-5 direct competitors
Visit their websites and note what they claim their difference is
Create a list of words, phrases, and systems that they use as their difference.
Step 2: Self Analysis
What do you actually do different in your process?
What steps do you include that others skip?
What do you refuse to do that others do?
Ask yourself: What would a competitor have to change about their business to copy us?
Step 3: Examine Your Patterns
What’s the last client/project you turned down and why?
What's one thing you do that takes longer but you refuse to skip?
Describe a recent situation where you chose quality over quick turnaround
What do you consistently prioritize that makes clients/colleagues say "most people don't do that"?
Here are some examples of what that might look like:
"I turned down a logo design project because they already had their 'vision' locked in and didn't want input. I always include a discovery call even for small projects.”
“I passed up a $10K website project because they wanted to use their existing copy without revisions.”
“I spent an extra week researching their industry even though it wasn't in the scope.”
Pattern: "We only work with clients who value collaborative creative process”
Step 4: Identify Your Strategic Constraints
What do you NOT do that you could do?
What opportunities do you deliberately pass up?
What types of clients/projects do you reject?
Strategic Insight: What you refuse to do is often more differentiating than what you do
Step 5: The Proof Test
For each potential differentiator, ask: "How would a lead verify this?"
Can you point to specific examples, processes, or outcomes?
Is there external evidence (testimonials, case studies, industry recognition)?
How a web developer found their true differentiator
I had a client earlier this year that was drowning in web design projects that didn’t bring her any joy. Despite her killer work she was always competing on price and attracting clients that saw her web design as a means to an end.
During our strategy workshop
I had a client earlier this year that was confused about what made her design studio different than others - besides her amazing work, and even that was hard to put into words. Together, we worked on breaking down every part of her business including her brand values and commitments, competitor analysis, and the systems she used (plus what she was planning for the future).
In the end, we determined that while she didn’t originally know what made her unique or different in any way beside just making great work, her process and values made her stand out amongst her competitors. While competitors purely focused on creating great work she focused transforming abstract ideas into brand ecosystems through strategic design, compelling copy, and ambitious development - empowering entrepreneurs to build fearless, authentic businesses. She had unknowingly already build the systems and process for this differentiator, she just wasn’t specifically naming it. As a result, she now can attract better clients that are more aligned with how she works.
How to make your differentiation strategic
Once you’ve figured out your own differentiator, there are some steps you can take to implement it:
Make it visible:
Update your website copy to reflect your actual differentiator
Create case studies that prove it
Adjust service descriptions to highlight the differernce
Make it systematic:
Build process that reinforce your differentiator
Train team members to deliver on it consistently
Create quality control measures
Make it strategic:
Use it to guide business decisions
Say no to opportunities that don’t align
Integrate it into your client experience
Here's the thing: your differentiator isn't hiding in some grand strategy session or expensive consultant's report. It's already baked into how you work, what you refuse to compromise on, and the patterns you've been unconsciously following for years. The hard part isn't finding it - it's having the guts to own it and the discipline to say no to everything that doesn't align with it.
Stop trying to be everything to everyone. Start being the obvious choice for the right people.
If you're ready to dig deeper into what actually makes you different (not just what sounds good in your bio), let's work through it together. Check out my consulting services - because sometimes you need someone outside your business to see what you've been missing.
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