twointwomillion
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Lately, I’ve been talking a lot about differentiation which has led to several DMs. Those messages showed me that I failed to properly explain a key part of differentiation.
For a deep dive into the guts of separating yourself from the crowd read Mountain Of Carrots — How Companies Must Differentiate In A Cluttered Market.
Namely,
Like every single principle or theorem in business, there are always exceptions. Differentiation is no different. But, by and large, you want to be different as a result of identifying a problem or ‘’want’’ you have.
If you start with differentiation, there’s a good chance you’ll end up doing stuff no one gives a damn about. It’s not hard to say, ‘’we’ll be blue instead of red.’’ And while it can be useful to explore that solution space, these types of ‘’different’’ often just aren’t noteworthy to your customers.
Don’t differentiate for the sake to be different. Be different out of necessity. I want you to view differentiation as a test ‘’Am I solving a real problem? Does my tiny audience need me?’’ [1]
Here are a couple of questions to help you improve your differentiation and stand out more.
What is the actual problem? Is there a more painful problem I could or should be solving?
What is the tiny audience you’re trying to solve the problem for? What are the current products?
How are they solving that problem? Why are they insufficient? What are they missing?
What can you do to fully solve the problem? To solve the problem 10 times better for 10 times less money? Maybe more money if that increases their status?
How can you blow the minds of your tiny audience? What’s a good idea that your competition is too lazy or selfish to execute? How can you make your product so epic that it’s hard to live without?
Read: Create A Product That’s Hard To Live Without
[1] I like black coffee. I also like iced coffee when I’m on the road. But I’m forced to always buy energy drinks. Mango Monster FTW! But I would love to be able to buy a 0.5L can of high-quality black coffee. But the only shit I can find are small .2L paper cups of iced coffee that are 99.9% milk and sugar. If someone made that product, that would be real differentiation. That doesn’t mean it guarantees it’ll work but it’s a better place to start your series of experiments. (IG Post about Monster v. Red Bull.)
I also make a smoothie multiple times a week. These are based on current scientific research on aging, and contain lots of veggies, fruits, and herbs. I would LOVE to be able to just buy the damn stuff without cutting, cleaning, etc. But the only stuff you can buy is juiced (losing a lot of the most important nutrients), and is optimized for taste, not health. Making such a product would have real differentiation. Again, doesn’t guarantee you’d be rolling in dough. Most people prefer pleasure over health. But starting with a tiny audience is a great way to get started. The Dumbest Startup That Ever Worked — What You Can Learn From Airbnb — PART 2
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Learned something? I have a newsletter that teaches you entrepreneurial science to help your business grow. Want in?
Have a good one,
RJ
For a deep dive into the guts of separating yourself from the crowd read Mountain Of Carrots — How Companies Must Differentiate In A Cluttered Market.
Namely,
DIFFERENTIATION IS MEASURE NOT A TARGET
Like every single principle or theorem in business, there are always exceptions. Differentiation is no different. But, by and large, you want to be different as a result of identifying a problem or ‘’want’’ you have.
If you start with differentiation, there’s a good chance you’ll end up doing stuff no one gives a damn about. It’s not hard to say, ‘’we’ll be blue instead of red.’’ And while it can be useful to explore that solution space, these types of ‘’different’’ often just aren’t noteworthy to your customers.
Don’t differentiate for the sake to be different. Be different out of necessity. I want you to view differentiation as a test ‘’Am I solving a real problem? Does my tiny audience need me?’’ [1]
COMING UP WITH REAL DIFFERENTIATION
Here are a couple of questions to help you improve your differentiation and stand out more.
What is the actual problem? Is there a more painful problem I could or should be solving?
What is the tiny audience you’re trying to solve the problem for? What are the current products?
How are they solving that problem? Why are they insufficient? What are they missing?
What can you do to fully solve the problem? To solve the problem 10 times better for 10 times less money? Maybe more money if that increases their status?
How can you blow the minds of your tiny audience? What’s a good idea that your competition is too lazy or selfish to execute? How can you make your product so epic that it’s hard to live without?
Read: Create A Product That’s Hard To Live Without
NOTES
[1] I like black coffee. I also like iced coffee when I’m on the road. But I’m forced to always buy energy drinks. Mango Monster FTW! But I would love to be able to buy a 0.5L can of high-quality black coffee. But the only shit I can find are small .2L paper cups of iced coffee that are 99.9% milk and sugar. If someone made that product, that would be real differentiation. That doesn’t mean it guarantees it’ll work but it’s a better place to start your series of experiments. (IG Post about Monster v. Red Bull.)
I also make a smoothie multiple times a week. These are based on current scientific research on aging, and contain lots of veggies, fruits, and herbs. I would LOVE to be able to just buy the damn stuff without cutting, cleaning, etc. But the only stuff you can buy is juiced (losing a lot of the most important nutrients), and is optimized for taste, not health. Making such a product would have real differentiation. Again, doesn’t guarantee you’d be rolling in dough. Most people prefer pleasure over health. But starting with a tiny audience is a great way to get started. The Dumbest Startup That Ever Worked — What You Can Learn From Airbnb — PART 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Learned something? I have a newsletter that teaches you entrepreneurial science to help your business grow. Want in?
Have a good one,
RJ