Being Better Isn’t Better. Being Different Is Better

When I ask firms, “How are you different?” I get similar answers:

• We have better customer service.

• We offer better financial planning.

• We have a better investment strategy.

But there is a problem with differentiating yourself as being “better”: It is easy for someone else to swoop in and be better than you.

This approach means a constant race to be the best. When you differentiate on being better, another firm can easily dethrone you by offering slightly better customer service or adding one more financial planning discipline.

When competing for clients, being better isn’t a sustainable strategy. Instead, be different in some defendable way (e.g., have a niche specialization) because it is hard for the competition to also be different in that same way.