Let me get straight to the point here. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Just buy it or read it.
Now, read on as to why.
When you buy a book, there’s always some risk involved.
Will you like it?
Will it be worth the money?
With a paper book, even if YOU don’t like it, you can sometimes find someone to whom you can give the book and who might appreciate it.
Buying on a Kindle, however, is different.
If you buy it and it’s not good, you’re out of luck
3 Pages to Value
I’d had Youngme Moon’s book, Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd
By the time I was 3 pages into it, I said to myself “Whoa! This could be the BEST business book I have EVER read!”
Yes, I realize the hyperbole associated with that comment, but the rest of the book only continued to blow me away with the down-to-earth, practical, and exciting perspective she brings to the field of marketing and particularly, the concept of Differentiation.
I was highlighting like a madman and I found myself in the “can’t put it down” frame of mind that is usually reserved for world-class fiction.
First off, it was Different
I loved how her approach, not condescending, not all-knowing, rather friendly and inquisitive (and this coming from a Harvard B-school professor) already struck a different tone.
Her lack of certainty added to her credibility (something I discovered is a true asset in a recent HBR podcast as well).
Second, and most importantly… Differentiation is a Mindset
Towards the end of the book, she writes
“Differentiation is a way of thinking. It’s a mindset. It’s a commitment. A commitment to engage with people-not in a manner to which they are merely unaccustomed, but in a manner that they will value, respect, and yes, perhaps even celebrate.”
and I think that summarizes the key concept of the book, because in the previous 150 pages she demonstrates (extremely convincingly) that, for most firms, “the harder they compete, the less differentiated they become.”
Why?
Well, as she explains:
“The minute we choose to measure something, we are essentially choosing to aspire to it. A metric, in other words, creates a pointer in a particular direction. And once the pointer is created, it is only a matter of time before competitors herd in the direction of that pointer.”
In fact,
“A funny thing happens the minute you begin to capture comparative differences on paper: There is a natural inclination for folks in the comparative set to focus on eliminating those differences, rather than accentuating them.”
So, what you should do instead:
“The truth of the matter is, true differentiation—sustainable differentiation—is rarely a function of well-roundedness; it is typically a function of lopsidedness.”
And don’t worry about not having EVERYTHING that your competitors have, because:
“Negative trade-offs are not only a marker of excellence, they are a marker of differentiation.”
Since this is the only real way to actually achieve the objective of the function of marketing:
“You could even boil down the entire function of marketing to this—the process by which businesses try to make us picky about what we consume.”
Filled with plenty of examples and advice…
Along the way, Youngme (I feel like she’s a friend now) provides a wealth of examples of companies that “get” how to do this…albeit in different forms, which she calls “Reverse brands, breakaway brands, hostile brands, or idea brands.”
These companies (Ikea, Mini, Red Bull, among others) “think about differentiation not as the offspring of competition, but as escape from competition altogether.”
And how do they do that?
By staying true to their mission and not always being customer-driven.
What?!
“if you’re looking for a compromise solution then yes-take a poll, conduct some research, survey the people. But if you’re looking for a unique solution, the last thing you should do is ask for a vote.”
“Strange and Unusual Ideas Need a Cocoon”
Because Differentiation is a mindset and does require a unique approach, most of the ideas that come up will, at first glance, appear to be off the wall or too radical.
We’ve seen this in the pursuit of Remarkable and it is an organizational culture thing. You absolutely MUST create an environment where raw, crazy ideas can percolate and grow (yes, I am mixing metaphors).
It’s the way you escape price commoditization and build something that lasts.
The Brands of the Future
Competition is even fiercer now, so the tendency to be part of the Herd and imitate in a never-ending cycle of “me-too” isms, is as great as ever. Saying to your boss “now, we can say that we have everything our competitors have” is great, but you know what? Customers don’t care about most of it. They are looking for something….DIFFERENT.
So, the brands that will flourish will do three things:
- Offer something hard to come by
- Commitment to a BIG Idea. (this sounds familiar to you blog readers, right?)
- Be Intensely human. (as does this)
I couldn’t agree more.
This book now enters the lexicon of foundational marketing books for me.
Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd
