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Game of Differentiation
How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious
Game of Differentiation
It’s a matter of life and deathThe clans are assembling, the banners are unfurled, there’s
menace in the air and a chill on the wind. The ultimate clash is close at hand. Who will emerge victorious?
As the ongoing battle for customer acquisition and retention rages on, we compare the runners and riders.
In marketing, as in war, it’s all about differentiation.
What is differentiation?In this cutthroat era, marketeers must mark themselves as different. You need to prove your competitive edge and you need to create compelling content that stands out.
And that’s not all. You need to be sophisticated enough to differentiate by channel and audience, while avoiding the
hurdles and pitfalls on the way.
In short, you need to be a Differentiation Champion. Read on to learn how...
Battle Plan
Onward!
In this slideshare we’ll inspect the armies and assess the tactics of:
• Differentiation by channel• Differentiation by audience• Hurdles and obstacles• Data: the ultimate weapon
Differentiation By channel
He may not yet have mastered a smile, but Jon Snow is a dab hand at battle strategy.
The expert warrior uses different tactics and strategies to win victories on different terrains.
Jon Snow
Just like Jon, marketeers need to tailor their approach in different situations to maximise success.
Why differentiate content by channel?• Every channel has its strengths
and your content should be tailored to play to these
• Fun, entertaining content is more suited to social media channels
• Higher level research and insights lend themselves better to email marketing
What say your adversaries?We asked 172 B2B marketers why they
differentiate content by channel or audience:
71% 49%70% 41%said To provide an
improved customer experience
said To provide greater differentiation from the competition
said To attract more customers
said To increase customer loyalty
Just like Cersei, marketeers must deal with different audiences in different ways to win them over.
Differentiation By Audience
The Lannisters, led by Cersei, are the ultimate power brokers because they understand people.
From crafty alliance to surprise attack to open warfare, Cersei is a master manipulator, shifting her approach to conquer every adversary.
Cersei Lannister
Why differentiate content by audience?• To deliver a better customer
experience by offering only relevant content
• To attract and retain more customers by giving them what they want
What say your adversaries?We talked to 172 B2B marketers about
differentiation by audience...
83%77% 49%50% 41% 28%
tailor their content by audience
Industry LocationContent consumption
Seniority Device
83%
Calculating the Differentiation
All this fighting for customers (and kingdoms) doesn’t come cheap. You need to know you’re getting good results for your gold.
The Iron Bank
Just like the meticulous Iron Bank that funds the clans of Westeros, marketeers must measure
and evaluate to optimise outcomes.
What say your adversaries?We talked to 172 B2B marketers about how they measure their differentiation efforts...
77% 42%62% 36% 30%New lead
generation/pipeline
New customer
acquisition
New sales Customer retention
Contribution to profitability
The road to the Iron Throne is littered with the remains of those who didn’t make it.
Marketeers are coming up against their own hurdles and obstacles on the path to differentiation success.
Hurdles & Obstacles
We asked 172 B2B marketers about the challenges they face when trying to differentiate
Hurdles & Obstacles
Read on and learn from their unfortunate fates...
69%69%Just like the Greyjoys, 69% of B2B marketeers said they just didn’t have enough time to plan their content differentiation strategy.
Lack Of Time To Plan
Plucky Yara and tragic Theon were caught unawares on the high seas, losing an entire fleet to their dastardly uncle in a surprise attack.
With no forward plan and no strategy, for now they’re out of the game.
The Greyjoys
Lack Of Creativity
Cast your mind way back to the beginning. Mama and Papa Stark always played it safe.
They were solid, dependable and dutiful.
And look what happened to them. Outmanouevred by cunning and creative enemies,
they soon shuffled off this mortal coil, leaving their more dynamic children to pick up the baton.
Ned Stark
Just like Ned and Catelyn, 41% of B2B marketeers feel lack of business buy-in to be brave and creative is holding back their differentiation ambitions.41%41%
Inability to create thought leadership
Stannis was desperate to lead, but through a series of rash actions lost support, alienated his allies and was deserted by half his army.
By the time of his final execution at the hands of Brienne, he was already a dead man walking.
Stannis Baratheon
52%52% Just like Stannis, 52% of B2B marketeers say their inability to create thought leadership means they are failing to win at differentiation.
Lack Of Consistency
While the armies of Westeros scrabble for supremacy, a far greater threat marches from North of the Wall.
The zombie army of White Walkers threatens to put an end to everyone’s ambitions.
The White Walkers
In the fight for differentiation, the failure of consistency is a looming shadow that risks undermining everyone’s content efforts...
What are the consequences in store from a lack of consistency in differentiation?
Here’s what 172 B2B marketeers had to say:
71%
52%
58%
45%
56%
20%
it Presents a confusing message to customers
and prospects
it Causes damage to brand
it Weakens the message presented to customers
and prospects
it Damages customer trust
it Fails to differentiate our brand in the
marketplace
it Damages customer loyalty
Data is the Ultimate Champion
Dragons now darken the skies above Westeros, wielded by a woman determined to become ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
The ultimate game changer, these fearsome beasts have the power to end the cycle of infighting once and for all, bringing victory for their champion.
Daenerys Targaryen
Just like Daenerys, marketeers now have a formidable weapon in their arsenal: data
In other words, unleash the data dragons to win the differentiation war!
44%83%
31%of B2B marketers
say lack of insight or data is holding them back from the goal of
differentiation
find it difficult to access data, and
say it’s very difficult
of marketers are collecting data but
are not using it to influence differentiation
Marketeers:unleash your data dragon!
34%
6%
Data gives you the power to target and differentiate your content to optimise engagement, results and return on investment.
Game of Differentiation
How to win the
The golden rules to be passed down to posterity...
Differentiate by channel.
Select a few channels and differentiate your
content to deliver a great customer
experience on all of them.
Differentiate by audience.
Segment your audience and tailor content
according to important factors like buying stage
and persona.
Measure and evaluate.
Assess and optimise your differentiation offers by tracking
key factors like leads generated and customers acquired.
Avoid the hurdles and pitfalls.
Give yourself time to plan, establish thought
leadership and get creative.
Unleash the data dragons!
Data and customer insight is your secret
weapon in the game of differentiation. Use it to
emerge victorious.
Ready to conquer Westeros and the rest of the world? First, be different.
Our webinar Dare to be Different turns marketing differentiation theory in hands-on, how-to advice to make you stand out from the crowd.
JOIN US AND TAKE YOUR VERY OWN IRON THRONE
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