“In real estate it’s ‘location, location, location’.  In marketing it’s ‘differentiate, differentiate, differentiate’.” — Roberto Goizeuta

The key to marketing is differentiation.  Your customer must perceive your product/service as different, better and more special. 

Effective differentiation is achieved by understanding your customer.  Astute customer insights establish the foundation of an excellent marketing strategy and are best discovered “in the trenches” where your customer works and lives.  Positioning expert Al Ries explains, “Strategy should evolve out of the mud of the marketplace, not in the antiseptic environment of an ivory tower.”

The Bottom Line: Leaders understand the world of their customer and use that knowledge to strategically differentiate their product/service.