How Do You Differentiate Your Business When Your Services Are Similar?


When building a brand, striving for distinction is a must, allowing your brand to be noticed in crowded markets.

Distinctive brand assets such as your name, visual identity, tone of voice, and website play a critical role in helping your brand stand apart. They create recognition, aid recall, and contribute to what marketers refer to as brand salience. In simple terms, they help your brand come to mind when a buying situation arises.

While deliberately striving for brand distinction is a choice,  positioning yourself as meaningfully different is a separate and often more complex challenge, particularly when the services you provide closely resemble those of competitors.

An accountancy firm, an electrician or a taxi service, may, on the face of it, offer very similar services to those of their competition. The challenge is to influence the consumer’s buying decision by demonstrating a meaningful difference.

If, as a business owner, you have embraced the idea of brand distinction, you have won half the battle, but visibility alone is not enough. Once you have been noticed, the more commercially important question follows. Why should a customer choose you over another business offering broadly the same service?

Being a (visually and verbally) distinctive brand is, of course, a form of differentiation to be discussed and committed to during the stages of branding, whereas other methods of differentiation, such as perceptual leadership and the demonstration of relative strengths, are achieved later, through an ongoing marketing strategy and marketing activity.

As discussed in my previous blog article, brand distinction is vital, especially so if you operate in an industry where your services or offerings are much the same as those of your competitors. In this article, I’ll discuss three further methods of developing meaningful brand differentiation.

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If, as a business owner, you have embraced the idea of brand distinction, you have won half the battle, but visibility alone is not enough. Once you have been noticed, the more commercially important question follows. Why should a customer choose you over another business offering broadly the same service?

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The myth of the USP

At this stage, it is worth addressing the long-standing idea of the USP, or Unique Selling Point.

The concept suggests that a business should identify a singular feature or benefit that competitors cannot claim. In reality, in most modern sectors, this kind of advantage is short-lived. While features and benefits can create temporary momentum, they rarely sustain long-term separation.

An electric car that offers the longest range on the market will eventually be surpassed. A television that claims the highest resolution or deepest contrast will soon be matched. Product innovation cycles are simply too fast for technical advantages to hold for long.

And for service-based businesses operating in crowded markets, where competitors offer near-identical services, the USP becomes a far harder proposition, thus making the case for deliberate visual and verbal brand distinctiveness even stronger.

Keep in mind, too, that actual differentiation (discussed below) takes more than words. So claiming to be ‘friendly’, ‘professional’, or ‘proactive’ is not a differentiator; they are expected behaviours. Every firm would position itself this way, and customers should assume competence as a given.

Research from organisations such as Kantar points to broader and more durable paths to differentiation. Leaving aside brand distinctiveness, which pertains to brand assets (name, logo, tone of voice etc), the three further methods of brand differentiation are:

Perceptual leadership - The signals that influence the perception that your firm is a front-runner in its field.

Relative strengths - Demonstrable expertise within a defined niche or discipline that reduces direct competition.

Emotive clarity - The expression of your values through how you operate and behave, enabling your audience to buy into and align with what you stand for.

To explore these points of differentiation properly, it helps to ground the discussion in an example.

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Actual differentiation takes more than words. So claiming to be ‘friendly’, ‘professional’, or ‘proactive’ is not a differentiator; they are expected behaviours.

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Our fictitious example: Accountancy firm Know Tomorrow

Let us imagine a fictitious accountancy firm called Know Tomorrow.

They are a young practice that has readily embraced emerging technologies in their working processes. They have invested properly in how they present themselves, both verbally and visually. Their name signals foresight and commercial awareness, their brand identity feels contemporary and confident, and their website offers a smooth and engaging user experience that makes interaction easy for prospective clients.

Placed alongside more traditional firms operating in their town, Know Tomorrow looks and sounds markedly different. Many of their competitors still lean on conservative naming conventions, predictable visual identities, and templated, unremarkable websites.

In this respect, Know Tomorrow has leaned successfully into the idea of distinctive brand assets. They have taken deliberate steps to ensure they are noticed, remembered, and perceived as modern in outlook. This is an excellent and recommended path, and one that any business would benefit from adopting.

However, when we look beneath the surface, their services remain broadly comparable to those of their competitors.They offer accounts preparation, corporation tax, payroll, VAT returns, dividend guidance, and access to standard accounting software platforms. They serve a general mix of clients rather than a tightly defined niche. Their service packages mirror those offered by other firms in the same locality. There is nothing particularly unusual in what they do.

So, although they have overcome the important hurdle of distinction, the question remains. How else might they demonstrate meaningful differentiation?

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Perceptual Leadership

Perceptual leadership concerns the belief that a brand leads its category, regardless of its size or tenure. For a firm like Know Tomorrow, their distinctive presentation will help them get noticed, but leadership must be reinforced through behaviour and communication.

One way Know Tomorrow can foster perceptual leadership is in how they communicate and deliver their services to clients.

Rather than focusing conversations purely on deliverables, compliance, or pricing, they shift the dialogue towards business growth. They speak about helping clients make better commercial decisions, and in turn, their language evolves from discussing service provisions to discussing strategic partnerships.

Additionally, creating and providing educational content to help clients understand forecasting, scaling, tax efficiency, or operational structuring reframes the firm as commercially valuable and demonstrates investment in client outcomes rather than transactional outputs.

Technology adoption also contributes to perceptual leadership, provided it is communicated correctly. If the firm uses automation, AI-supported forecasting, or advanced reporting tools, the emphasis should be on client benefit.

Publishing articles, hosting webinars, producing guides, and maintaining robust FAQ resources all signal authority. Speaking at events, appearing on podcasts, or contributing to industry commentary adds further weight.

Over time, the perception shifts. Know Tomorrow is going above and beyond the other accountancy firms in the area, but it requires ongoing and consistent output. The firm is no longer seen purely as a provider of accounting services; they are viewed as commercially aware advisors who help shape the future direction of their clients’ businesses.

You can foster perceptual leadership by:

• Positioning your role as helping clients make better business decisions, not simply fulfilling statutory obligations.
• Showcasing your use of technology, forecasting tools, and advanced reporting as a means of improving client outcomes.
• Producing guides, insights, events, and commentary that educate clients and signal authority within your field.

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Relative Strengths

Relative strengths focus on being perceived as superior in specific areas when compared to competing firms.

Many of the activities used to foster perceptual leadership will naturally reinforce this, such as regular content creation, speaking engagements, and media presence, all of which build recall and authority.

However, relative strength is most convincingly established through focus. Specialisation, sector expertise, or a clearly defined niche allows a firm to demonstrate deeper knowledge, sharper insight, and more relevant experience than generalist competitors.

Vertical niching involves specialising in a particular audience group. As an accounting firm, Know Tomorrow could choose to focus on creative agencies, dental practices, construction firms, or technology startups. By serving a defined sector, the firm develops fluency in the commercial realities of that audience. Case studies become more relevant, advice becomes more contextual, and credibility deepens as a result.

Horizontal specialisation focuses on mastering a particular discipline. For Know Tomorrow, this could include R & D tax relief, international structuring, startup funding advisory, or sustainability reporting. In a horizontal niche, deep expertise becomes the differentiator (rather than the audience).

In both niching scenarios, the competitive field narrows while perceived expertise increases, but it’s important to understand that relative strengths are most effectively demonstrated when niching is supported by visible thought leadership. Focused content, sector insight, and point of view all work to evidence the expertise being claimed.

In this sense, relative strength and perceptual leadership operate symbiotically. Niching creates the conditions for authority, while thought leadership makes that authority visible and credible.

Demonstrate relative strengths by:

• Focusing on a defined client sector to build deeper commercial understanding.
• Developing recognised expertise in a high-value specialism.
• Evidencing impact through case studies, results, and client outcomes.

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Emotive Clarity

Emotive clarity operates at a more values-led level.

It refers to a brand aligning itself and acting in accordance with beliefs that resonate with its audience, creating emotional preference alongside rational selection.

A widely cited example is Patagonia. Patagonia is a large, international clothing brand, but what differentiates it is its commitment to environmental responsibility. This absolute commitment is embedded across supply chain decisions, operational policies, communications, and activism. And this is something that resonates with customers who buy from them. They are not simply purchasing clothing; they are expressing alignment with a set of values.

For a service firm like Know Tomorrow, emotive clarity would manifest differently, of course, but can be equally powerful. The same principles apply to any service business.

They might champion financial literacy among young entrepreneurs, offering workshops or free resources to improve commercial understanding. They could support local startups, social enterprises, or community ventures through mentorship or reduced fee structures. Or, they may advocate for ethical tax practices or help businesses adopt more transparent reporting models.

When a business embeds its values into day-to-day operations, customers begin to understand the motivation behind the service, not just the service itself. It allows people to see what the business stands for, what it prioritises, and how it chooses to operate. This visibility fosters emotional clarity, as customers align not only with what the business does, but how and why it does it.

The critical factor is authenticity, and it is explored early within brand strategy as part of the discussions around internal brand. It addresses the more fundamental questions that sit beneath commercial activity: what drives the business beyond making money? What does it care about? And why should that matter to its customers?

Emotive clarity is borne from these internal values. They act as a precursor to brand personality, identity, and marketing strategy, shaping how the brand is expressed, communicated, and ultimately perceived. However, when discussing your brand values, do not rely on single, virtue-laden epithets. Expand your values into paragraphs and sentences to promote behaviours that generate actual meaning.

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Family focused? How and why? Are your hours flexible around school times? Do you offer hybrid working?
Purpose-driven? What is the purpose, and how does it inform your day-to-day operations?

If you want to foster emotional clarity in the minds of your audience, don’t just say it, do it.
It must be visible through actions and decisions in order to deepen trust and build affinity.

Provide emotive clarity by:

• Embedding your values into operational decisions, not just messaging.
• Supporting causes and communities your audience believes in.
• Ensuring client experience reflects your stated principles.

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Bringing the paths together

When viewed collectively, these routes to differentiation form a layered model.

Distinctiveness ensures you are noticed and remembered.

Perceptual leadership builds authority through how you communicate and educate.

Relative strengths concentrate expertise through focus and specialisation.

Emotive clarity creates alignment through values made visible.

For businesses operating in sectors where services are structurally similar, differentiation rarely resides within the service itself. It exists in how the business is perceived, how it positions its expertise, and what it is seen to stand for.

When these elements work in concert, a business is no longer viewed as interchangeable. It becomes recognised within a defined space, chosen not simply for what it does, but for how it thinks, operates, and leads. That is where durable competitive advantage begins.

If this article has prompted reflection on how your brand is positioned, there are two ways to explore the thinking further.

My one-hour Brand Strategy Workshop acts as a primer, a focused session designed to examine your market, your competitors, and where meaningful differentiation may exist.

Alternatively, booking a discovery call offers the opportunity to discuss a more comprehensive strategic engagement, including our Brand Foundations Launchpad, a deeper process that defines positioning, messaging, and brand direction in full.

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