Differentiate or Die : Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition

by Trout, Jack; Rivkin, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780470223390
• ISBN10: 0470223391
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-07
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Since Differentiate or Die published 7 years ago, competition for mindshare in a world of lookalike products and services has only intensified. This may explain why trade sales of this marketing classic have gone up during the past year, now that product differences are rapidly and easily copied. The message of the book is that companies often fail to see what their most emotionally powerful and unique attribute is, and management fails to implement a consistent strategy to emphasize that attribute throughout the company. Trout explains how to use core ideas like heritage, market leadership, and being first, to rationalize consumers' unconscious emotions so that managers can bind these ideas to their products. This is Trout's brilliant solution to the challenge of differentiation, in a world of me-too products. Differentiation is different from branding; it is the essence of what branding is about. In this revised edition, Trout demonstrates successful differentiation through examples from around the world, using core ideas like heritage, market leadership, and being first to rationalize consumers' unconscious emotions so that managers can bind them to products. This revised edition features updated examples from Russia and China, new research on brand commoditization, new information on differentiation in the new world of Buzz, a new chapter on differentiating anything, a strengthened "Specialization" chapter, and an in-depth explanation of the perils of line-extension and how it undermines differentiation.

Author Biography

Jack Trout is President of Trout & Partners Ltd. (www.troutandpartners.com), one of the nation's most prestigious marketing firms with offices in twenty-two countries. He is recognized as a top marketing guru and is the creator of the revolutionary concept of positioning. He is also the coauthor of the bestselling classic Positioning, among many other titles.

Steve Rivkin is founder of Rivkin & Associates LLC (www.rivkin.net), a marketing and communication consultancy. He is coauthor of five books on marketing and communication strategy and is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences around the world.

Table of Contents

The Tyranny of Choice	p. 1
The Creeping Commoditization of Categories	p. 11
Whatever Happened to the Unique Selling Proposition?	p. 19
Reinventing the Unique Selling Proposition	p. 27
Quality and Customer Orientation Are Rarely Differentiating Ideas	p. 35
Creativity Is Not a Differentiating Idea	p. 45
Price Is Rarely a Differentiating Idea	p. 55
Breadth of Line Is a Difficult Way to Differentiate	p. 67
The Steps to Differentiation	p. 75
Differentiation Takes Place in the Mind	p. 83
Being First Is a Differentiating Idea	p. 93
Attribute Ownership Is a Way to Differentiate	p. 103
Leadership Is a Way to Differentiate	p. 117
Heritage Is a Differentiating Idea	p. 125
Market Specialty Is a Differentiating Idea	p. 137
Preference Is a Differentiating Idea	p. 145
How a Product Is Made Can Be a Differentiating Idea	p. 155
Being the Latest Can Be a Differentiating Idea	p. 165
Hotness Is a Way to Differentiate	p. 175
Growth Can Destroy Differentiation	p. 181
Differentiation Often Requires Sacrifice	p. 191
Being Different in Different Places	p. 199
Maintaining Your Difference	p. 207
Differentiation in the New World of Buzz	p. 217
You Can Differentiate Anything	p. 225
Who Is in Charge of Differentiation?	p. 235
Epilogue	p. 243
Notes	p. 245
Index	p. 251
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