It’s tempting to believe that your business is undifferentiated, commoditized, and that the only way to make progress is through pricing, or more aggressive sales. In fact every business can find differentiation and a unique positioning, and it’s one of the least expensive ways to strengthen your company.

Here’s an instructive story about differentiation in the most difficult of circumstances:

You might think that construction sand is the ultimate commodity. You can get it from anywhere, the standards are very basic. It comes off the back of a truck. Well, it turns out that construction sand is a critical deliverable in the life of a building project. In large cities with unionized workers, the cost of an idle construction team is crippling. So if the sand is late, it can cost you a fortune.

One construction sand company in New York figured this out, and added a performance guarantee to their product. They charge significantly more than their competitors, but they guarantee that if the sand is late, they will pay the costs of the idle workers. Suddenly they have added risk management into the mix. Risk management is a very important thing for a construction boss, with thousands of things to worry about and coordinate.

This is just one example: the key is to find some aspect of your business or process that you can develop into a differentiator, in a way that will create unique value. That becomes the basis of your positioning.

For a more extended description of the range of ways in which differentiation can be created, read this article.

Establishing metrics and processes across segments to ensure the most profitable operation is a key capability for organizations as they evolve. As companies mature, they often stick with what they know, even when the market has changed. Robust processes to identify opportunities and measure success across new as well as pre-existing segments is a powerful profit driver.

Metrics and processes are important because business is about people. Your top people may be expert at driving current business, but they may be resistant to change and to the potential risk of new approaches. Leading change is a primary executive responsibility, and done well it makes the different between a vibrant or a stagnant company.

The key elements in this process are:

• Definition of current status and processes
• Internal and channel interviews to identify opportunities for improvement
• Definition of altered processes and metrics
• Identification of key personnel
• Handoff with a practical operational plan.

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