#1: Wynter’s founder and CEO, Peep Laja, weaves an astutely-observed, compelling thread on the urgency of differentiation in an increasingly ‘same’ SaaS world and reiterates how carving a meaningful brand remains a startup’s best bet. (Source)
What’s sameness?
Sameness is the combined effect of companies being too similar in their offers, poorly differentiated in their branding, and indistinct in their communication.
Most state their value proposition as if they were the only company doing what they’re doing.
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Any mature industry suffers from commoditization
Take for instance A/B testing tools, heat map tools or email marketing tools. They all got pretty much the same features, with minor differences. It’s increasingly harder to say how one tool is different or better than others.
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Differentiation doesn’t matter when you have a well-known brand. Market penetration is much more important.
That’s why Mailchimp doesn’t need to be different. You need to be different from them.
The fact that people know Mailchimp exists is everything.
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How to differentiate?
Your best bet: brand. Investing in building a brand from the get-go.
Functional differences are increasingly getting replaced by values, ideals, and identity.
Who am I if I buy your brand? What does it say about me?
I buy Patagonia because I believe in sustainability, and I care about the earth. When I buy Nike, among other things I champion women’s equality and oppose police brutality.
Your brand is your best defense against commoditization
Functional/attribute differences can matter, and innovation goes a long way, although that’s not a game everyone can play. But anyone can compete on brand.
Things have finite value. The meaning we attach to stuff, the stories we tell ourselves about it have exponential value.
How to be different through branding?
In her excellent book Different, Harvard professor Youngme Moon details three types of brands that stand out in the competitive landscape today.
Reverse Brands (‘in categories where most brands compete by doing more, better, reverse brands go in the opposite direction, they do less’ Ex: IKEA)
Breakaway Brands (‘they create points of reference around their brands, that are so different from what their competitors are doing that you end up comparing them with things outside the category’ Ex: Cirque du Soleil)
Hostile Brands (‘they create barriers to entry, they make it difficult for you to access the brand in some way…they create so much polarization around the brand that it becomes their central call, the antithesis of feel-good brands’ Ex: Red Bull)
Study these.
In his book Bigger Than This, Fabian Geyrhalter discusses eight “brand traits” of successful commodity brands.
Story
Belief
Cause
Heritage
Delight
Transparency
Solidarity
Individuality
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Marketing is a game of attention. If you do what everyone else is doing, it’s hard to get it.
Differentiation is hard, and requires all-in commitment. Do it anyway…