How to create a differentiated brand image and make the industry leader unable to fight back?

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If you become number one in a small market, then you must break out of it and go to the big market.

When you rush into the big market and truly dance with the wolves with the industry leaders, what are the key points?

Our key point is not to learn from the big players, but to find differentiation that the industry leaders cannot counter.

Speaking of differentiation, what is differentiation? Any differentiation that the big boss can use to fight back is ineffective. When you make something like this, the big boss is also making it. The big boss's bottle is big, and you make it into a small bottle. Is that called differentiation? The boss will fight you to make a small bottle the next day, and you will have no chance at all. Therefore, the differentiation you create at this time will kill your competition.

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Since the business model is the same, we must avoid working in the same pond with the big boss.

If you use the same method in the same market as the industry leader, you will eventually be unable to compete with him and will be eliminated. This is why the prerequisite for dancing with others must be to achieve differentiation that the boss cannot counterattack.

Differentiation that the incumbent cannot counter can be achieved in different ways, and one effective way is called the principle of opposition.

What is the principle of opposition? Usually we learn from them, but now we are not learning from the boss, but going against him.

There is a saying: The other side of the truth is still the truth.

How can it be a law against the boss? Whenever the boss says white, you say black; whenever the boss says good, you say bad.

The biggest benefit of saying this is that it lets the boss know that he will not be able to fight back or do anything opposing him.

Because the boss can't hit himself and shoot himself in the foot, he has no way to confront himself.

Let me explain it with a simple example: suppose you are in a small market for low-end cars and happen to be number one. Then you run to the high-end market to compete with Mercedes-Benz, can you learn from Mercedes-Benz?

Mercedes says it is luxurious, but you say it is more luxurious. Mercedes says it is comfortable, but you say it is more comfortable. Then we made an advertisement: A better car than Mercedes-Benz - XX car. If this is the case, then your car can definitely no longer be considered a high-end car.

You are the champion in the low-end car market. How do you compete with Mercedes-Benz after entering the high-end car market? Mercedes-Benz emphasizes the comfort of the back seats, so you have to emphasize the comfort of the front seats. Mercedes-Benz is mainly used for sitting, and the antonym of sitting is driving. This is the new strategy and also BMW's strategy.

Why did BMW, a latecomer in the market, eat up 40% of the high-end car market share? It's not that it does better than Mercedes-Benz, it's that it goes against Mercedes-Benz.

So BMW’s advertising slogan is: the pleasure of driving. Mercedes must have been furious when he heard this. Because Mercedes-Benz is not about the pleasure of driving, but the dignity of riding.

I asked you to sit down, can't I drive? We always say this in our lives: ride in a Mercedes-Benz and drive a BMW. So BMW suddenly stood in opposition to Mercedes-Benz, and Mercedes-Benz could do nothing about it.

Among the high-end population, some people like to have a driver, who drives the car while they sit in the back and enjoy the ride; others like the feeling of driving themselves, so they have to buy a BMW. This is the opposing principle that BMW is entering this market with.

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If you are in the same market as the industry leader, it is best to find a direction opposite to his.

In fact, if you change the direction, you are the boss. The protagonist's back is the antagonist. The antagonist and the protagonist are both heroes, and the hero's back is still a hero. Is that the truth? Only heroes can fight against heroes, and only when you stand opposite the boss can you become the boss's substitute.

We often talk about differentiation now. Many personal brands or companies talk about differentiation for a long time but all they say is at the tactical level. Differentiation at the tactical level will be countered.

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It is easy to deal with it through differentiation at the product level, by adjusting the product strategy every month or two; but it is difficult to differentiate at the price level.

If you try to find differentiation among the four Ps of marketing , you will find it very difficult. You can differentiate, but differentiated competition allows your opponents to fight back.

The basic principle of opposition is that once you oppose him, he cannot fight back, and he cannot say that he is bad. This is called a difference at the strategic level, not the tactical level.

So why do you think QQ can beat Alto? Comparing QQ and Alto, both are cars priced at 50,000 yuan each, QQ is a later entrant brand while Alto is an earlier one. Alto's car is square, while QQ's is round; Alto's color is single, while QQ's is colorful. When QQ is the opposite of Alto, it becomes a substitute for the original boss. The essence of differentiation is to become a substitute for the big boss and make it impossible for the big boss to fight back.

This kind of differentiation has not been discussed in most marketing studies, because many marketing ideas remain at the tactical level, including the marketing mix.

Remember: it is definitely not the group that is targeting the strategy; the strategic level is about differentiated positioning.

I'll stop here today. Goodbye~

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The author of this article @向十七 Du You (Qinggua Media) compiled and published it. Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!