Embrace Radical Differentiation for Long-Term Growth of Your Brand

I heard a great way to describe the idea of confidence in a recent conversation. Consistency drives confidence—the belief that what you are doing will deliver results because you have seen it work time after time. This is how businesses grow in value. Can your business show consistent growth results over a period of three years? If the answer is ‘yes,’ then belief in your brand increases, and confidence drives investment.

But how do you drive growth? That is not an easy thing to achieve. There are many ways, but one key method is through differentiation. It not only gives you a strong story to tell to generate interest in the short-term but also enables you to hold a position and create enduring, long-term strength and confidence. And the more radical the differentiation, the more protected you are because truly unique innovation can’t be copied.

The Brand Ladder
For every brand transformation engagement I always create a brand ladder. Take a look at your core competition and understand their position. For each position, add it to a different rung on the ladder. At this point, you face a decision: 1) Take a position, or rung, from your competitor and do it better, or 2) Create your own rung.

Path one requires less innovation but more investment. You will have to convince the world you are better. You will have to yell it, scream it, and evidence it at every turn. This takes time and money, and the reality is if you think you can take that position, someone else is thinking the same about you. If a position is easy to take, it’s not a strong position.

Path two requires more unique thinking, more bravery. Creating your own rung, in the short term, is not an easy task; it will require you to let go of everything that has driven success up until today and be prepared to pivot. It requires a leadership team willing to let go of fear for their roles and align with a long-term idea that could secure the brand for decades. The more radical the idea, the less opportunity others will have to copy.

Claim the Rung That is Impossible to Climb On To
Through the Onlyness process, your unique position can come from a variety of areas. What you bring to the world, how you do it, who you decide to focus on, why you do it, and the context in which you do it all matter.

Standing out is not a natural thing for people. Humans want to be part of a community; we are social beings and want to fit in. When you stand out, you need to be prepared for criticism and ridicule. But it is exactly what brands need to secure long-term value. In fact, I believe you know you have a great idea when you are scared to lean into it.

In my experience, that moment of fear holds us back from change and leads to settling for average ideas because of the fear of upsetting people. But the longer that is allowed to happen, the more opportunity there is for others to steal your value and eat away at the life of your brand.