Simply put, a brand differentiation strategy is designed to create and promote unique characteristics and traits for a company, product, or service. They pointed the finger at the market leader Gillette, for their overpriced blades with unnecessary features and challenged men to rethink their shaving habits (and not have the wool pulled over their eyes – something men don’t tend to take lightly). They took on a faceless giant brand (Lexington) who controlled 80% of the market, to offer stylish designer glasses as a fraction of the price. Differentiation Based on Price Consumers love getting the same product for less. Without that strategic thinking, a brand will go nowhere fast. As a result, advertising in general and brand building in particular are important to this strategy. What is a differentiation strategy? Products. While most of the other differentiation strategy examples were born during the brand development stage, this example was introduced well after the brand had established itself. If you can intuitively help a customer understand why they’d benefit from your product over another brand’s, they can quickly, easily decide to buy from you. Differentiation strategy formalizes the company’s efforts to achieve the biggest difference, and the most profound business outcomes make your products distinctive in the marketplace. Selling the most expensive products in a market is a counterintuitive differentiation strategy. Differentiation Strategy is the strategy that lays emphasis on offering a superior product, on some dimension (s), compared to what competitors are providing. Can you offer your audience a low-cost option? No brand owns a feeling better than Coke. Horizontal differentiation refers to any type of differentiation that is not associated with the product’s quality or price point. 1. Offer multiple shipping options that cater to customers' schedule and preferences. Strategic differentiation is not just about new products or services but about doing what is valued much better than the other guy. These examples are truly inspirational and show that strategic thinking is critical for a brand to exist. But of course, saying you’re high quality doesn’t exactly mean much, since anyone can say the same. It entails development of a product or service, that is unique for the customers, in terms of product design, features, brand image, quality, or customer service. A differentiation strategy is a way to stand out from the noise and give people a reason to choose your business over others. When you focus on differentiation, then you look to compete by adding extra value to your customers that they won’t find in your competitors. Differentiation is about setting your company, product, or service apart. Their straight talking, logical and humorous approach made a noise to the tune of $1bn, which Unilever bought them for just five years later. Beside above, what is differentiation strategy example? When your product differentiation strategy focuses on design or build quality then there is no real substitute for what you offer. Differentiation strategy 1. For example, Apple phones and computers have a unique design. A differentiation strategy in retail can be supported by … For example, by focusing your strategy on quality, your product may be seen as a status symbol for those who buy it. Although Huawai has gone on to steal marketshare from the two biggest players in the Smartphone market through their product innovation, the low-quality stigma of a low-priced product has been difficult to shake. The key is to find and solve the rival ' customers ' pain-points.Merits of the plan Turn clients into fans by building brand loyalty - The right brand plan for small businesse Differentiation can be done on the design of company’s products, innovation, brand image, features or customer services (Teece 2010, 174). The ability for a company to offer a premium price for their products or services hinges upon how valuable and unique these offerings are in the marketplace. Can you target a segment of your audience more specifically to be more relevant to what they want? Differentiation focus strategy … Warby Parker however, didn’t just come to the table with a feel good factor of purpose. Differentiation strategy is built on a belief that one needs a clear and unique positioning. In a sea on corporate blue and complicated competitors, Mailchimp went against the grain with their bright, simple and quirky illustrations and overly simple language and tone to give newbie entrepreneurs an obvious choice for their first email software. Few goods are … Differentiation, in marketing, means creating specialized products, services, or experiences that position your brand at a competitive advantage within a specific market segment or segments. Finding a unique differentiator is a creative game and you need to get your mind thinking outside the box in order to find one that is unique enough for your brand to stand out. Differentiation is aimed at the broad market that entails development of a product or service that is unique from other products or services across the industry. Business differentiators may take the shape of product specifications, service offerings, features or efficacy, or pricing. Geico provides a stand-out option for that exact group. The main objective of implementing a differentiation strategy is to increase competitive advantage. There are three competitive strategies that you can implement across your business: Cost-leadership strategies, differentiation strategies, and focus strategies. There are many factors that make your business stand out in the marketplace. An effective differentiated strategy has the following advantages to your business: Building an effective brand strategy can require an in-depth assessment of your business and careful planning. It distinguishes your brand from all others. It calls for you to sell nonstandardized products to customers with unique needs. Can you identify a moment of feeling your audience loves to align your brand to? Commonly recognized differentiated goods include Toyota’s Lexus, Ralph Lauren clothing, and Caterpillar’s heavy-duty earthmoving equipment. Differentiation Strategy as A Competitive Strategy for Any Company. Geico goes against the grain and lightens the mood with a funny looking talking gecko and a fun and light-hearted communication strategy. Your differentiation strategy is an integrated set of action designed to produce or deliver goods or services that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them. They’re hiding and can only be found with creative thinking. They take a different approach, challenge the status quo or just ignore it altogether. Virgin is a global brand providing services from air travel to financial planning. Sell them as “small chickens” or come up with a new name, and so “Cornish Game Hens” were born. Focus. The two main strategies you can adopt as a business are that you focus either on costs or on differentiation. A well-executed differentiation strategy helps your business to stand out in a competitive marketplace and convince potential customers to buy from you, rather than engaging competitors. Can you leverage heritage or origin to build trust? 2. So that’s where a tight product differentiation strategy becomes a big commercial hook. A differentiator invests its resources to gain a competitive advantage from superior … 6. carve out a position in the mind of their audience, longest customer service call clocking 10 hours 51 minutes. What is Differentiation in Marketing? The jewlery company, which you may also know from Audrey Hepburn’s iconic movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, is famous for its stunning hand-crafted and timeless designs. Across all of Virgins’ Brands their differentiation strategy is aligned from one brand to the next, all the way up to their infamous founder Richard Branson. Differentiation simply means using product features or functionality, innovation, brand image or customer service to make products and services more attractive to the potential consumer. (So if you use lower cost as your differentiation strategy, have a long term plan). The Daqian Times is a newspaper based in South East Asia (PH, VT & MA). You’re developing a strategic brand and you need a differentiation strategy to differentiate your brand from the swarms of other brands all offering similar products or services to you right? A good differentiation strategy isn’t sitting out in the open waiting to be found. A differentiation strategy is an approach businesses develop by providing customers with something unique, different and distinct from items their competitors may offer in the marketplace. They are a highly visible platform for communicating your brand personality. DIFFERENTIATION AND ITS BAD SIDES. See if you can take inspiration and apply any of these ideas (with a twist of course) to your industry. In fact, it’s the opposite—the world has a massive sameness problem. How can one apply a differentiation strategy for enhanced business performance? Thank you so much Steve. Position your products for customer convenience as a differentiation strategy. TOMS did it effectively, though they were one of the pioneers. Yes, there may be other well-designed products but none are quite like yours. New York, NY 10016, Beijing Headquarters When you focus on costs, then you try to become a low-cost provider. Huawai entered the market as an unknown low-cost mobile technology brand. As indicated, a differentiation strategy serves a broad market. Get all of the Tips, Techniques and Processes in this article sent directly to you! Differentiation is possible along one or more of various dimensions — product features, quality, customer service, guarantee, distribution, delivery, product customization, etc. The insurance industry is awash with blue tone brands speaking in corporate monotone language. Having been acquired by Amazon for $13.7 Billion, Whole Foods now operate with an economic moat around their differentiation strategy, which allows them to dominate due to scale. Differentiation Strategy Prof. (Dr.) Nitin Zaware Prof. (Dr.) Nitin Zaware 1 2. So to get those creative juices flowing, here are 12 unique differentiation strategy examples. So to get those creative juices flowing, here are 12 unique differentiation strategy examples. Building a strategy on a differentiation requires a company to continuously invest in and develop: Differentiation does hot work when buyers perceive that it could not, reduce their cost, or increase lead stomach their well-being. Examples of product differentiation including unique design, customer service, and price. Differentiation may be reflected in the name, packaging, and promotion of a product. No.11 Huixin Dongjie ,Chaoyang District,Beijing 100029, PRC, Differentiated Strategy: How to Build Competitive Advantage? Of all the differentiation strategy examples listed, this one is available to almost all brands. Coke’s entire positioning strategy is based around the emotion of “Happiness” and they remind you to “Enjoy A Coke” in every beautiful destination in the world, at every time of year. A differentiation strategy advocates that a business must offer products or services that are valuable and unique to buyers above and beyond a low price. It involves attempting to develop products and services that are viewed as unique in the industry. Whereas, marketing and branding differentiators can take a form of business naming, visual identity, or the verbal identity of a brand and the message it delivers. Cheers Patrick. throughout the entire brand development process that is more critical than the differentiation strategy. Product quality, features, and/or services are viewed by customers and end-users as being significantly different than the competition. Differentiation strategy allows a company to compete in the market with many other factors besides the lower prices. When we think of coke, we (consciously or subconsciously) think of happy times. helps companies build products customers love and be happy doing it. Differentiation Strategy Prof. (Dr.) Nitin Zaware Prof. (Dr.) Nitin Zaware 1 2. The differentiation strategy is closely aligned with the product strategy. Product Managers often shoot for the easiest way to create product differentiation: they add more features. A strategy which is focused on boosting the presence of a business within a marketplace and highlight the things that make it different from similar competitors is called as a differentiation strategy. Give people a reason to choose your business, if a customer purchases a product ( I services! Control of the main objective of implementing a differentiation strategy isn ’ t mean differentiators are difficult or complicated will. 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