Yo Reader,

4 times last week I asked someone: "what do you do that's different or better than your competition?"

And 4 times last week someone couldn't answer 😅

And I get it, cause it's fucking hard.

I mean, unless you're delulu AF, you don't actually believe you're different or better than literally everyone.

But "everyone" isn't your competition. Your competition are usually a much smaller circle.

Maybe they're the other peeps in your area that do what you do. Or the same ones that target your niche. Or whatever other differentiator you're dealing with.

And thats a lot easier to compete against.

And if you WANT to compete, if you want marketing success, you need to answer the most important question:

"What do you do that's different or better than your competition?"

What NOT to do

"I do a better job"

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, it's just better. And I get results."

"Hmm," I said, "do you have proof of those results?"

*crickets*

I'm paraphrasing but that's the average of every conversation I have about this stuff.

Quality. Honesty. Results. Care. Blah blah blah.

That's what people come up with.

And it's complete bullshit.

Everyone says those things. They're out here claiming they're the best. And it's easy, cause talk is cheap.

Those broad types of phrases only work as a differentiator if you have a very clear way to prove it. But since proof is hard, no one does it.

And if you can't prove your claims, then they're just empty BS that keep you at the commodity tier of service (that's a bad thing just fyi).

Think deeper

When you make a broad claim, go a step further and think about how that claim manifests. What you actually do that demonstrates what you're saying. How you can prove it.

You're honest? How? What do you do (that others don't) that demonstrate that honesty?

Ohhhh you deliver real results? What kind of results? What do you do specifically (that others don't) that guarantees you deliver those results?

You care? What do you care about? What do you do (that others don't) that shows you care?

You've gotta dig. Investigate. Push.

Our first answer to a question like this is always going to be surface level. To get to the good stuff, we need to crack open that surface level BS we naturally come up with, and go hunting and digging until we find the descriptive gooey centre of who we are and how we do things.

Say less

Lots of people think they can stand out by doing more. Have more services. More case studies. More content.

But really, the way to differentiate is by doing less. It's what you say no to, just as much as what you say yes to.

For example, I consider myself an expert at what I do. One of the ways I back that stance is I won't work with people that just want someone to follow their instructions. That means I say no to a whole lot of potential clients, but the clients I do work with, appreciate the expertise and are happy to pay for it.

The more specific you can get about stuff, and the more you stick with it, the more powerful it gets.

Here's some ways you could get specific about your approach:

• You only work with a specific industry or client type
• You solve a specific problem (and only that problem)
• You offer a very specific service and just own it
• You have a very specific model or pricing structure
• You follow a very specific process
• You have a specific (and contrary) viewpoint
• You've got specific and undeniable proof of your results

Get at least one of these things down, and you've got yourself a differentiator. Combine a few, and you're likely going to be pretty unique in your space.

TLDR; what do you do that's different or better?

Cowabunga,
Nick Gulic

ps. Super short email this time. I was tempted to write a whole lot of examples of different differentiators in the wild, but you can look it up if you care. Or reply and ask me.