#Thinking Out Loud
Differentiation is not limited to the product. There are other types of differentiation can work too, though which is more transient and which is more sustainable is TBD. Not a perfectly MECE list:
Use cases
- e.g. Discord v.s. Slack; Houseparty v.s. Zoom; Clubhouse v.s. numerous IM apps allowing audio group chats
Target demographics
- e.g. a myriad of US apps vs their Chinese counterparts
These differentiations can be established through the following ways besides differentiation on the product level:
- Branding: an effective way to promote a certain type of use case, to appeal to a different segment
- Pricing: usually through competitive operational efficiency or lower margin
- Observable improvement in certain factor influencing customers’ experience (besides price): including both psychological and functional factors