Differentiation that matters

The article argues against two marketing myths, uniqueness and table stakes. People buy a brand not because it is unique but because it delivers what they want a little better.

Differentiation that matters

Patrick BarwiseManagement and Marketing at London Business School
Sean MeehanMarketing and Change Management at IMD, Lausanne

Marketing is about two things. First, the marketing concept: 'Marketing is not a specialised business activity. It is the whole enterprise seen from the customer's point of view.'1 Firms make money by profitably meeting customers' needs better than the competition. Second, differentiation: marketing's role is to increase the brand's distinctiveness in customers' minds, countering the commoditising pressure of competition. Firms make money by being seen to be different.

Many marketers have lost sight of the first...

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