Think of your brand as a verb. What it does is more important than what it simply says. 

Taking action towards brand differentiation not only puts your personal coaching brand ahead of the competition, it catapults you to an undisputed spot that sustains and creates your market’s need for your services.

The following are examples of brands that actively worked on their differentiation and as a result, achieved a status in the marketplace that is a cut above the rest.

1. Amy Landino – Amy is the social media marketing guru and video sensation behind some of the most watched vlogs on all things marketing and lifestyle. She actually began as Savvy Sexy Social but as both her career and personal life changed with her content evolving and after getting married, she found herself in need of a rebrand. Amy went from being known solely as the ace behind Savvy Sexy Social, Amy Schmittauer, to changing how she presented her brand across the board. For instance, her YouTube channel was renamed AmyTV while her more recent content now features her new surname.

Amy is proof that a rebrand brought about by content and audience evolving as a result of niching down further (or even changing surnames because you got married), shouldn’t really be a hurdle in brand differentiation. If you do it as well and as thoroughly as Amy did, you might even gain an even greater following after your rebrand. 😉

2. Burger King VS McDonald’s – These two fast food giants have been neck and neck for years but recently, a big issue erupted when McDonald’s lost rights to the trade mark of one of its signature burgers — the Big Mac. 

Burger King was quick to jump on this and it didn’t take long before photos of their menu boards detailing their burgers as “Not Big Mac’s”. Now this may be a lesser formalized example because of the humor injected but nevertheless, differentiation takes center stage as BK cements its trademark whoppers as exceptional burgers on their own right. 

3. Dove Men + Care – Now brand differentiation is commonly used to distinguish a business from its closest competitors. But that doesn’t mean that your personal coaching brand can’t benefit from differentiation internally.

Dove is known around the world as a personal care brand for women that champions body positivity and wellness. So when they decided to come up with a line of products for men, internal differentiation efforts needed to be employed. 

Dove Men + Care takes all the best things about the Dove brand that propelled it to its international status as the leading wellness brand and mixes it in with the message that men must also be celebrated. The cared for man is stronger, empowered, and capable. The brand zeroes in on the reality that while men are called on to be tough, personal care doesn’t hurt masculinity but in fact promotes it.

While these three examples show differentiation tactics that worked for varying brands, your personal coaching brand can very much learn from these case studies. Opportunities for differentiation can come after a major rebrand like Amy Landino, off of your main competitor, or even internally when branching out to other services within the same brand.

Wherever it comes from, brand differentiation can always serve a brand by eliminating everything that it isn’t so what it truly is shines.

Wondering which differentiation technique applies to your personal coaching brand? Send us a message today and book your FREE Discovery Call so we can get started!