Differentiation in the Sea of Sameness 👑

Low differentiation, low durability. Brand graveyard.

Low differentiation, high durability. Entire categories (CPG, automotive, consumer electronics, pet care, alcohol, entertainment, travel, beauty, fashion, music, sports, toys and game) are made of brands that are very similar to each other, but that have staying power.

High differentiation, high durability. Apple, Amazon, IKEA are some of the companies that belong to the high growth, high durability segment. They put forward the totally new way of doing things in their respective categories, and create a radically new buyer value (e.g. access to well-designed, affordable furniture; extreme shopping convenience; r... See more

High differentiation, low durability. There’s a lot of fashion, luxury, travel and entertainment brands and the entire genre of DTC brands that are very much talked about for a moment, only to fade into obscurity/low consumer preference once the negative effects of their fractured internal cultures, lack of new funding/revenue, lack of brand-buildi... See more

Aspirational economy is not a zero-sum game.

Instead, better is to focus on creating and nurturing brand differentiation in the eyes of the consumer, through creation of buyer value. Buyer value protects a brand’s pricing power, as consumers are willing to pay premium for value they think they cannot get anywhere else.

Second, the consumer-centric growth strategy ensures that a brand grows through creating new buyer value and not through imitating competition. New buyer value makes competition irrelevant.