I grew up with two brothers, three years and six years older than me. They were bigger than me, stronger than me, more knowledgeable, better at sports, everything. The only thing I could possibly do better than them was be myself. I think that’s part of the reason that I became a messaging strategist.

Every industry has its big names. You can think of them as the older brothers. These are the brands that get the most attention often through the sheer size and force of their presence in the marketplace. Many of them don’t have great messaging strategies but frankly, they don’t need it. Consider the national bank brands—what do they really stand for? It’s pretty hard to say, but they have a branch on every corner.

Usually it’s the challenger brands—you can think of them as the younger siblings—who need to optimize their message. It’s the up and comers who really need to figure out how to stand out from competitors. This is called strategic differentiation. Not different just to be different, but different in the ways that matter most to your audiences and are authentic to what you do. I still see many websites with a page called: How We’re Different. I don’t like this approach. Strategic differentiation isn’t part of the message—it’s the heart of the whole strategy. Funny enough, the How We’re Different page often doesn’t articulate a tangible difference at all. It just says stuff like “We care” or “We know what we’re doing”. Which may be true, but the problem is anyone can claim that.

If you can’t say for sure what your strategic differentiation is, don’t feel bad. With so many competitors and so much overlap in capabilities, it’s often not a simple question to answer. But there is an answer. Especially if you’ve been obsessed with differentiation from a young age. And together, we will find that answer.