Customer Reviews

Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jack Trout is an excellent writer and has important insights about the importance of differentiation. That being said, I especially liked this book the first two times I read it when it was titled "Positioning" and "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing." Personally I'd be a bit embarassed to use 50% of the exact same cases and examples from previous books and still charge ( ). Apparently a harvest strategy and not a good way to differentiate oneself.

That being said, if you haven't read anything by Jack Trout or Al Ries then this book, or one of the aforementioned books, is essential reading for marketing and brand managers.

This relatively short book focuses on the idea that companies who don't capitalize on the unique features of their product or service, and who don't evolve into a unique identity will end up in the fossil layers of business failure. A list of brands that have bit the evolutionary dust: American Motors, Burger Chef, Eastern Airlines, Gainesburgers, Hathaway Shirts and Woolworth's tells the tale. In contrast, Nokia, Popeye's Chicken, Bose and Walmart are successfully evolving and creating the differentitation that keeps their customers and grows their business.

There is a Hall of Shame of CEO's who failed to understand this principle, and the important fact that the CEO must be involved in understanding and spearheading differentiation. But most of the examples in this book are plenty familiar to readers of "In Search of Excellence." This is an enjoyably written book, but at most it makes one point: create your unique quality and stay ahead of the wave.

I liked very much Trout and Ries, Positioning and Marketing Warfare. Reading this book, I had an impression that most of the professional knowledge the author has, was distilled in his previous books.

Mr Trout is doing something he said was not a good practice in Advertising (see Positioning): Line Extension. The good parts of this book you will find in his previous books, maybe with different phrases and examples.

The other thing that is hurting is that he is trying to give advice in areas where he has limited knowledge and experience.

Looking at some titles of the chapters in this book you will find:

Chapter 4 - Quality and Customer Orientation are rarely differentiating Ideas.

Toyota and Honda achieved a position in the mind of customers worldwide that they make high quality products for a good price. Well, it will be difficult for the other automakers, who are actually working to catch up in quality, to differentiate themselves on quality, for they are also runs. I would say that is a hell of a strategy, maybe is not for everyone, but them differentiation is by definition for a few, and not for everybody.

How many companies have positioned themselves as high quality products? Does it pay? Go ask Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, Volvo, Patek Philippe...

Chapter 5 has as title: "Creativity is not a differentiating Idea"

I guess I cannot believe that Mr. Trout has read his own phrase. Does he mean that lack of creativity is a differentiating Idea? Does not make sense. I think quite the opposite, when you are not able to create something unique, is when you go out trying to do something else to differentiate yourself.

I have seen creativity applied to Advertising, the results were fantastic. In Brazil, sometime ago, Brastemp, (a Home Appliances company with financial links with Whirlpool) run an ad campaign that stressed the Quality of Brastemp products using the phrase: " it is not a Brastemp !". Each ad told a story about something (not related to appliances) and the concluding remarks would be " it is not a Brastemp !". The phrase got so popular, that became incorporated as an expression of our language. The end result was that Brastemp established itself in the market so strongly that still today people in Brazil position Brastemp as the top quality producer of home appliances. In the mind of the Brazilian consumer Brastemp is top quality, better than GE, Electrolux, ex-Westinghouse, etc...

I have seen creativity applied to Product Design with similar results.

This book should be read with a critical eye, for it has some impressive phrases but when you think a second time and compare with some practical experience you find problems.

I am not an advertising professional, I just enjoy reading books that come with good new ideas.

Trout's book builds on Rosser Reeves' premise in his 1961 book REALITY IN ADVERTISING about the unique selling proposition. (Trout acknowledges this and dedicates the book to Reeves.) Trout's book essentially is Reeve's Trout's thesis is basically Reeves's but with new examples. That makes for not a lot of startling revelations here. In short chapters, Trout distinguishes differentiating factors (such as being first, leadership, market specialty) from stuff that falls outside of such factors, like creativity, price, and quality. Trout makes the argument that fast growth can be a wicked distraction and get in the way of successful differentiation. But while he trots out some examples of this (ESPN's rollout of other cable offerings, for example), there's nothing here that makes a compelling case about why fast growth and differentiation can't go hand in hand. Fast growth can be a distraction from any aspect in business; the trick is to figure out how to manage it. That's not something that you'll get here.

This book is good for any manager under 40 who has not seen all the fads last time they came around, or has not taken the trouble to read the thicker and more rigorous text books on strategy.

It is thin - value chain is not in the index, and customers (satisfaction) are only listed once - how can you seek ways to improve your market position without a detailed ( = quantitative) review of where you sit in the value chain or to know exactly what the customer wants (rather than what you can tart up from the current catalogue.

It's a good checklist - otherwise it would have been just two stars.

Other Trout books are very good - this one appears to be harvesting the reputation rather than adding to it.

Today markets are driven by customer choice, and there are more possible product choices than ever before for the customer. Companies that fail to address the whims of the marketplace will not survive. It is more important that ever before to differentiate your product from its competition. According to the authors, companies must address differentiation in three ways:
1. If you ignore your uniqueness and try to be everything to everybody, you will undermine what differentiates you from the competition.
2. If you ignore changes in the market, your differentiation can become less important.
3. If you stay in the shadow of your competitors, without establishing your "uniqueness" you will always be weak.

The authors then outline four steps to successfully differentiate yourself from competitors:
· Step 1: Make sense in context. Your message must make sense within the context of your market category. Start first with a "snapshot" of customer perceptions about yourself and your competitors.
· Step 2: Find the differentiating idea. There are many ways to set your company apart from the competition. However you differentiate yourself, set the difference up as a benefit to the customer.
· Step 3: Have credentials. Your claims to the customer must be real and believable. You should be able to demonstrate the difference to the customer. That demonstration becomes your credentials.
· Step 4: Communicate your difference. You need to build a strong perception of your product in the market. Every aspect of your public communication should emphasize your difference.

Have you ever looked at an advertisement and wondered what product was being sold? If so, you're not alone. Writers Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin thought the same thing and concluded, after 30 years in the marketing and advertising business, that the creative trend in ads has gone way too far. They believe modern companies should follow the advice of legendary ad man Rosser Reeves, and focus on their "Unique Selling Proposition." The authors caution that your company can survive in today's hyper-competitive environment only by accentuating its advantageous difference. Companies that don't promote their differences are in danger of being lost within a suffocating realm of choices. But proceed warily; focusing on the wrong difference could cost your business its business. We [...] see this as primary reading for execs at any company, since the ability to stand out might be today's key determinant to survival.

Differentiate or Die is a great book providing that you haven't read prior books written by Jack Trout - Marketing Warfare, Positioning, and The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing to name just a few. I really loved the book, because I really to enjoy reading Trout's work, but I must admit - it was a little repititive. It is worth the read - do yourself a favor if you don't think you are up-to-date with the term differentiation and are not aware of the outcomes of companies which do and don't have it (you could probably have a pretty good guess by the title though!).

What stood the hair on the back of my neck up was when Trout and Rivkin put down the 'you must differentiate' professor of all time - Michael Porter - in the 2nd page of the Preface. Allow me to quote - "Harvard's Michael Porter, for example, does talk about the need for a unique position, but he never offers much help on how to be unique. Instead, he talks about strategic continuity, deepening strategic position, and minimizing trade-offs. And he talks to any competitor who will pay his fee. Nothing different." This got me going. This really got my veins pumping in unison with my heart which suddenly seemed to be beating faster than ever. And yes, it was only the second page.... So, despite the fact that it was kind of similar to previous written books, and used basically the same examples - I read on.

I learned about the concept of the USP, and how the choice we have now is different from the choice we would have had many years ago. I learned about many things that aren't really a differentiating idea - for example - creativity, price, bredth of line. Following that Trout explains things that are differentiating steps - attribute ownership, leadership, heritage, hotness - etc. Thats the basic outline of the book.

All in all though, an interesting book to read - that really has woken me up to realize the fact that we must be different in this day and age. Ohhh, and also - another thing that I did like was some of the stats that they used. I wish they'd say according to who - or state a source. But anyway - I really think it's interesting. Have a read - you'll know what I mean.

Cheers, Vaughan

When I purchased this book I thought it was another very basic marketing book. However, I was amazed at the speed at which my mind wanted more every page I turned. It is an excellent source for novices to C.E.O.'s. Being a C.E.O. myself I make it a point to read one business book a week. I am glad I picked this one. It's a must read book for everyone who thinks they are running a good business.

This book is pretty meaningless. It tries to make it appear that Porter's generic strategy Differentiation is something Trout and Rivkin has discovered. It feels like a Tom Peters book, a lot of shouting, little substance, great show and disregard what has come before. Even though Trout and Rivkin has written good books before, this is not one of them.

Best left on the shelf.