What's the Difference?

Read practically any book on marketing and you’ll see a discussion about the importance of a brand’s relevant differentiation.

tools of the COPYwriter's trade: laptops

The common wisdom is that a successful brand is different from its competition in some way, and that the difference is important to the brand’s customers.

All well and good.

If your brand has a genuine difference, by all means use it, especially if the difference is hard for the competition to steal.

The problem is, most brands don’t really have big differences. Novelties get old and features are easily imitated. And usually, several brands in any given category perform pretty well. So for the most part, we live in a parity world.

But for a brand to be seen as unique, you don’t need an actual point of difference. You need a perceived point of difference.

Branding is largely a matter of perception. 

And while you can't control anyone's perceptions, you can help craft and influence them.

Now, I don't want to suggest inauthenticity here. The best brands grow directly out of a company's authentic values and vision.

For example, you can develop a personality for your brand that represents your company's DNA. 

That would be, by its very nature, a point of difference. Unlike many features, you can trademark and legally protect your brand’s personality. And if your competition attempts to imitate it, many people will give credit to the original brand.

Yours.

So you win no matter what.