Lesson four: Differentiate, disrupt and don't blend in

By Niall Anderson

Lesson four: Differentiate, disrupt and don't blend in

If Lesson two, was about understanding your client, Lesson four is about making sure they remember you.

In crowded markets, it's easy to become just another provider saying the same things, using the same language and offering the same solutions. According to Niall Anderson, that's exactly where businesses get into trouble.

The organisations that win aren't always the biggest. They're often the ones willing to be bolder, move faster, challenge assumptions, and give customers a genuine sense of what it's like to work with them.

Here's what he had to say.

Kate Shanks: Why is differentiation so important today?

Niall Anderson:

Because most markets are crowded. Whatever service or product you're selling, there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of alternatives available. If you show up looking and sounding exactly like everyone else, the only thing left to compete on is price.

That's a dangerous place to be.

For me, differentiation isn't about having a clever slogan. It's about how you behave. How you show up. How quickly you move. How prepared you are. How much you genuinely care.

At smart/tasking, people often tell us they like working with us because we're responsive, agile and outcome focused. That's not something we write on a slide deck, and hope people believe. It's something we try to demonstrate from the very first interaction.

Kate: Is differentiation harder for smaller businesses?

Niall:

In some ways, yes.

We're competing with organisations that have bigger brands, bigger marketing budgets and more resources than we do.

But smaller businesses have an advantage too: agility. We can move quickly. We can make decisions quickly. We can put the people who will actually deliver the work in front of the client early in the process.

That's a huge differentiator.

A lot of larger consultancies sell with one team and deliver with another. The partner wins the work and then disappears. We try to give clients a genuine glimpse of what life will be like when they work with us. Because that's the real buying decision.

Kate: What do you mean by "what life will be like working with us"?

Niall:

It's a question more businesses should think about. At some point in every engagement, clients are asking themselves, ‘What is this actually going to feel like?’

Not just what you'll deliver. Not just what methodology you'll use. But what's the experience going to be?

Will you be visible? Will you be responsive? Will you solve problems quickly? Will you make my life easier?

The smartest clients ask those questions directly. Others don't. But they're still thinking about them. The more you can demonstrate the experience, rather than simply describe it, the more you stand out.

Kate: Why do so many businesses end up sounding exactly the same?

Niall:

Because they follow each other. People move between organisations, bringing the same language, approaches, and assumptions with them. Over time, industries start to sound identical.

Then you add vendor influence into the mix. Many businesses become heavily shaped by the products they sell or the partners they work with, so everyone starts using the same terminology and telling the same stories.

Eventually, everything becomes commoditised. And when that happens, differentiation becomes incredibly difficult.

Kate: What's the danger of becoming a ‘me too’ provider?

Niall:

You lose value. If customers can't see a meaningful difference between you and your competitors, they naturally start comparing prices. Once you're in a race to the bottom on cost, it's very difficult to get out.

That's why you need to continually innovate, improve, and find new ways to create value. Differentiation protects value. Sameness destroys it.

Kate: What's the difference between genuine differentiation and clever marketing language?

Niall:

Proof. Lots of companies can tell a story about themselves. Far fewer can prove it.

Anyone can claim to be innovative, customer-centric or market-leading. What's much more powerful is having customers who can tell those stories on your behalf. The strongest proof points aren't marketing messages.

They're client outcomes. They're customer references. They're real experiences. If you can point to people who have worked with you and achieved meaningful results, that's far more compelling than any slogan.

Kate: Can a business stand out without being controversial?

Niall:

Absolutely. You don't need to be provocative for the sake of it. But you do need to be willing to challenge. Sometimes that means asking uncomfortable questions or suggesting a different route. And sometimes it means telling a client there might be a better way to achieve what they want.

That's not controversy. That's being a trusted adviser. And in the long run, I'd rather have a customer for life than win one big deal.

Kate: Have you ever won work because you approached things differently?

Niall:

Yes, we have many times. One example that stands out involved a major client presentation. The client had spent the entire day listening to traditional supplier pitches.

Instead of presenting slides for an hour, we did something different. We ran a short interactive exercise. The feedback afterwards was incredibly simple:

"That's exactly what we needed."

What they saw wasn't just our proposal. They got a glimpse of what it would actually be like working with us. That helped us win the work.

Sometimes disruption isn't about being radical. It's simply about being memorable.

Kate: How do organisations become too comfortable?

Niall:

They become internally focused. One question I often ask leaders is:

‘How often do you actually spend time with customers?’

Many organisations talk about customer centricity. But when you look at leadership diaries, they're full of internal meetings. Board meetings. Operational reviews. Town halls. Governance sessions. And very little direct customer interaction.

Over time, businesses lose touch with what customers really care about. That's when propositions become bland and differentiation starts to disappear.

Kate: Does AI make this challenge worse?

Niall:

Potentially. AI is brilliant at helping people research, prepare and become more productive. We use it ourselves. But it can also create a sea of generic content.

You can spot an AI-generated sales email a mile away because they all start to sound the same.

What AI doesn't understand is context. It doesn't know the relationships you've built over the years. It doesn't know the conversations you've had. It doesn't know the trust you've earned. Technology can help you prepare. But it still can't replace human connections.

Kate: Do leaders sometimes dilute differentiation by trying to appeal to everyone?

Niall:

All the time. It's natural because we want to please customers. But over time, businesses can end up customising everything for everyone. Before long, they've got dozens of variations of the same service, increasing complexity and reducing efficiency.

The best organisations know what they're great at and stay focused on it. You can make clients feel special without reinventing your entire proposition every time.

Kate: Final question. What's the one thing people should remember from this lesson?

Niall:

Be confidently bold. Believe in what you do and believe it can make a difference. Then find ways to show people what it feels like to work with you. Because that's where true differentiation lives.

Not in what you say. In what people experience.

The takeaway

Many businesses spend enormous amounts of time trying to sound different. The organisations that genuinely stand out spend their time being different.

They move faster. They care more. They challenge constructively. They stay close to customers. And they deliver an experience that matches their promises.

As Niall puts it:

"Be confidently bold. Believe in what you do and show people what it's like to work with you."

That's far harder to copy than any marketing message.