Does your differentiation avoid or provoke competition?
It’s often relatively cheap to copy things like superficial features, general processes, offering a wide range of colour options, industry standard levels of customer service, etc.
If the cost of copying you is relatively low compared to the benefit, you’ve just provoked competition. You’ve set yourself up to become just another game in town.
It’s often relatively expensive to copy proprietary research, technology or know-how, earned trust, robust networks, a dynamic culture, novel systems architecture, creative strategy, etc.
If the cost of copying you is relatively high compared to the benefit, you’ve avoided competition. You’ve achieved scarcity and have a competitive advantage.
Don’t poke the bear with your differentiation.
Be intentional about your differentiation and look for opportunities to stand out in a way that avoids competition and achieves scarcity so that you grant yourself a competitive advantage.
