Differentiation in the Sea of Sameness

Why differentiated and durable brands are rare

Last week, I wrote about value innovation and what modern brands can learn from Häagen-Dazs. This is the second part of that analysis.

Brands that enjoy quick growth rarely think about what will happen when this growth slows down. It inevitably does: coveted markets, like luggage and travel accessories and apparel get saturated as new entrants and legacy players set to capture the opportunity.

First-movers, unless they act quickly to build economies of scale and capitalize on their initial investments may find themselves stuck with disappointing IPOs and diminishing market share.

In the economy where supply exceeds demand, the best way toward long-term growth is to avoid competitive strategy altogether. Aspirational economy is not a zero-sum game.

Instead, better is to focus on creating and nurturing brand differentiation in the eyes of the consumer, through creation of buyer value. Buyer value protects a brand’s pricing power, as consumers are willing to pay premium for value they think they cannot get anywhere else. In saturated markets, the goal is to increase a brand’s market not in volume, but in value.

This consumer-centric growth strategy gives brands two advantages: first, it ensures that a brand…