“Coca-Cola Doesn’t Sell Soft Drinks”

What if you could make your marketing a key differentiator?

TL;DR

When products and prices are barely distinguishable from one another, companies often turn to cost reduction or product development. Rarely do they ask: what if our marketing is what sets us apart? At Marketing is Mensenwerk, we help organizations turn their message—and the way they communicate it—into a strategic competitive advantage.

“We find it incredibly difficult to differentiate ourselves. In the end, most competitors offer roughly the same thing. We constantly have to compete on price, and even then it can be difficult to win business.”

We hear this regularly.

Many organizations operate in markets where products, services, and features are becoming increasingly similar. If differences do exist, they are often difficult for customers to recognize. The result is usually price competition and shrinking margins.

Marketing as USP

Most companies in highly competitive markets ask themselves how they can make their product more distinctive. But perhaps there is a better question to ask. A more interesting—and often more effective—approach is to consider how you can make your marketing distinctive.

Take Coca-Cola, for example. Coca-Cola doesn’t sell soft drinks. Coca-Cola advertisements rarely talk about the product itself. Instead, the company’s marketing has focused on emotional associations, linking its iconic beverage to friendship, togetherness, happiness, and shared experiences. The differentiation doesn’t lie in the product; it lies in the marketing.

The same is true for Red Bull. An energy drink is relatively easy to replicate. The association with adventure, courage, extreme sports, and pushing boundaries is much harder to copy.

Sometimes, the differentiation exists entirely within the marketing itself. Think of iconic campaigns such as “Even Apeldoorn bellen” or “Foutje, bedankt!” in the Netherlands. People often remembered the advertisements better than the actual product features. The marketing ensured that these brands remained top-of-mind for years.

Marketing that made the difference

You can even find this principle outside the business world. The Red Hot Chili Peppers once became famous for performing on stage wearing little more than a sock. It was memorable, provocative, and impossible to forget. Many people didn’t even know their music—they simply knew them as “the band with the sock.” The marketing made the difference.

At Marketing is Mensenwerk, we help organizations develop exactly this kind of distinctive layer. Not by shouting louder than the competition, but by creating a story, style, approach, or positioning that people remember.

Products are often easy to copy. Great marketing is not.

And sometimes, that marketing becomes the most distinctive feature of a company.

FAQ

Can marketing really be more important than the product?

A poor product will always remain a poor product. But when products are largely comparable, marketing can absolutely be the deciding factor.

Does this also work in B2B markets?

Absolutely. Business decision-makers are still people. They remember companies that occupy a clear and distinctive position in their minds.

How does Marketing is Mensenwerk help?

In many markets, your product is no longer your primary differentiator. The way you tell your story is. Marketing is Mensenwerk helps organizations turn marketing itself into their strongest competitive advantage.