Your competitors can copy everything except this.

If I had to pick one marketing theme repeated most often in the guru circles, it is this: “You need to be different than your competitors.”

I agree with this by the way. Finding your point of differentiation is essential. If you’re not different from competitors in a remarkable and meaningful way, how in the world can you compete (except on price — and then, you’re a commodity!). What is your marketing message if you don’t know what story to tell?

So differentiation matters and you probably already know that.

But today I want to push your thinking further. Because when it comes to differentiation, you probably only have two sustainable options. And for most of us, there really is only one …

How different are we … really?

One of the most frustrating roadblocks in the consulting business is getting customers to come to grips with their own delusions of grandeur. I often hear points of differentiation expressed like this:

• “Our people are our difference.”
• “The best service in the business.”
• “We will beat any price.”

But anybody can say those things, right? My garbage collector can say it. The local florist or insurance agent can make those…