Reilly Newman | Comparison is the thief of all joy. It also steals business.
When businesses strive to prove to their audience that they are better than their competition, it’s a fool’s errand. This is because “better” is very subjective because it is based on one’s perception of value. For example, someone may value the quality of one product while another values the versatility of another. These aspects can’t be compared so each could say the other is “better.” It leads to pointless debates because the very definition of “better” aren’t measured the same.
A classic example of this was the Pepsi vs Coke wars in the 1980’s. Pepsi’s attempts to prove that it was better than Coke with its Pepsi Challenge led Coke to mistakenly alter their recipe and introduce New Coke, which was met with resistance because for Coca-Cola, the customer’s choice had been less about flavor and more about the nostalgic brand.
Once the business realizes it can’t convince its prospects of being “better”, it then looks to being “different.” This is also a quick response because brands like Apple (“Think Different.”) make it very popular and an easy band-aid to apply in efforts to feel productive in marketing your brand. This again can be a disservice because it has once again put your business and potential customers in the comparison mindset. “We aren’t like those other guys! We are XYZ.” As you can tell, just as being better needs an object to compare to, the same goes for different.
In these instances, the brand comes across as desperate and not confident. It makes your potential buyer look at the other options in the market and puts them in the comparison mindset. This sets the marketing and sales process in a logical state which leads to pros, cons, and further comparison. This creates a nonempathic or emotional selling situation that leaves your business to be nit-picked because — after all — you pulled the first thread and the buyer is just following your lead.
Frankly, to be in business, you should be better. You should be better at different things than your competition. You should be better because you have a unique approach or are different in a better way. However, these are the byproducts of being distinct. By being distinct, it focuses on what makes you YOU.
This is different than being just different. To be distinct is to be special on your own without comparison to a third party. Being distinct makes you instantly recognizable as you. Like a fingerprint. What makes something different doesn’t necessarily make it distinct as difference can be a fleeting attribute. However, the trait of always innovating or doing the extreme or cutting edge can be a distinctive attribute of a brand.
Here are some quick examples to clarify different versus distinct when it comes to your brand:
• New Product Feature = Different
• Unique Logo and Name = Distinct
• Interesting Brand Personality in Messaging = Distinct
• Better Taste = Different
• Special Color Palette = Distinct
What makes you unique and special is your distinct nature. Just as one individual is distinct for their facial features, skin tone, eye color, hair color, or personality, your brand must be distinct in its way as this will lead a difference in the market that stands out and adds more value. This again isn’t derived through comparison, but by the sheer individualistic attributes of you and your brand.
