Is there a science to market success? And is it linked to differentiation?

There is a lot of talk about ‘differentiation’ these days. The idea that a company should have a completely new and unique product offer or business model when entering the market. This school of thought is even more prevalent in start-up culture, where it often takes on pseudo-philosophical form, and consultants obsess about USP’s.

But is there a science to this idea? Does success require uniqueness? Or is it a lot of fancy talk? Let’s dig deeper.

First, let us tackle the philosophical angle. The idea that a brand should have a unique ‘why’, some nobel story about why they founded the company. Although this can definitely help new brands in specific market categories create resonance with their audience, it is hardly a must-have for commercial success.

Personally, I sit in the middle on this. I love the book for what it is: a guide on becoming a better leader that inspires those around them. It is not a brand strategy book, and it doesn’t pretend to be. It does make some great points relevant for creating strong brands, when put in the proper context. Some of it is even scientific, especially the part about the limbic brain and neocortex and how that plays into purchasing decisions. That’s spot on and a lesson many new entrepreneurs have yet to discover.

However, Sinek’s talking point “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it “… well, there’s no science to that whatsoever.

Especially when looking at mainstream commercial success: market penetration and market share are gained by mental and physical availability, in other words: representation.

People do not buy Coca-Cola en masse because of Coke’s ‘Why’; they buy it because it’s on every shelf and it’s familiar: trust created by the sheer volume of its presence.

So it’s safe to conclude: market success does not require some grand story behind the brand. However, not everybody has Coke’s budget and historical brand equity. An important takeaway lies in the more nuanced idea:

People DON’T necessarily BUY from you because you are different, but they DO NOTICE you because you are different.

So while uniqueness doesn’t guarantee market success or direct sales, it might very well enhance the chances of success for new players entering the market, helping them create resonance with their audience and build trust in the long term.

We come to similar findings when we look at the more technical side: the product and the business model.

Sure, there are brands that successfully generate customers based on innovation. But people often forget:

Business history is littered with failed ideas that were incredibly unique.

Ideas so different that people just didn’t get them. People will flatteringly dismiss these market failures as “being ahead of their time,” but that’s a failed opportunity. Because research shows there is a science to this, and it finds that most successful ideas sit right on the axis between novelty and familiarity.

So uniqueness, as it applies to product or business model, requires a level of nuance. It can be a new approach to a known problem, a fresh combination of known tools, or even an original presentation of a commodity product.

A great example is the smartphone. Smartphones became a thing because of the Iphone, that’s for sure. The full-sized touch screen became a game-changer for the industry. But the Iphone wasn’t mind-blowingly unique in every aspect when it first launched. Other companies went before it. Some had relative success, most failed. I bet you can’t think of any besides Blackberry.

Steve Jobs’s legendary presentation reaffirms this nuance to uniqueness. That fine line between novelty and familiarity. After warming up the crowd announcing he’s about to show a revolutionary product, he goes out of his way to emphasize that the Iphone is a ‘new’ combination of 3 FAMILIAR products:

“An Ipod, a phone, an internet communicator. An Ipod, a phone, an internet communicator. These are not 3 devices, this is 1 device.”

But let’s take it even further: what if you are selling a common solution to a common problem. I.e.; you clean people’s cars, and there’s an ongoing demand for it. You can have success but might struggle if you are the new player entering a crowded market. So… you need to get noticed first. But, your product, story, and business model all lack any differentiation. Well, you can level up your uniqueness elsewhere: in your brand identity and presentation, for instance.

Which brings us back – full circle – to our point: People DON’T necessarily BUY from you because you are different, but they DO NOTICE you because you are different.

Concluding: Market success does not require uniqueness. But differentiation can help you stand out as a new player.

Have a unique, relevant, and compelling story? Work with it.
Have a unique product or business model? Work with it.
Have neither? Work with it.

Work to create a distinctive brand identity that resonates with the right customers. To sell, you must first get known. To get known, you must first get noticed. Build a brand that gets noticed. Then build on it with marketing and distribution towards true success.