Great businesses and brands are built on strength of difference.

This is not only one of the most important ideas in marketing, it is also plain old common sense: businesses sell things to human beings; humans notice things that stand out. Back when we were scantily-clad bipeds roaming the open plains, noticing difference was a critically important survival mechanism. Today, though our lives are significantly less dependent upon it, we still can’t help but notice uniqueness. As intellectually and emotionally curious beings, we are drawn to difference like moths to a flame. If for no other reason, people who are selling ideas should embrace difference simply because it gets noticed.

Difference has never been more important to the working marketer than it is today. As anyone who browses Amazon, navigates Netflix, or walks through a grocery aisle knows, the market has become incredibly cluttered. The resulting tyranny of choice can prove daunting to any potential buyer trying to make the purchase that will meet their needs. Difference can only become even more important in the future. Yes, our “attention filters” will become increasingly sophisticated, but as long as people keep creating more choices, the importance of standing out will continue to grow.

When it’s foggy, you need a really bright light to get noticed. When it’s cluttered, you need to be highly differentiated to stand out.

The importance of difference is one of the few demonstrably true and scientifically supported facts in the often vague, but usually well-articulated world of marketing. Difference is a leading indicator. Lift your difference and good things will happen – to market share, revenue, profitability, and shareholder value. Let your difference drop and the opposite is true.

Of course, it doesn’t take much to stand out. Any idiot can be different, but it may take an act of genius to find a way to stand out that’s truly compelling to your audience.

Smart difference is meaningful and compelling to your audience. Smart difference recognizes all the complexity and responds with a simple, uniquely compelling idea. Smart difference is a path to competitive advantage. Ultimately, difference is the hard part that makes everything easier. Without difference, you can work your clever marketing butt off, but the outcome is fated to be mediocre. Incremental. Middle of the road. Vanilla.