Checkpoint 6: What Makes You the “Only”?

Complete this sentence: Our brand is the ONLY __________ that __________. In the first blank, put the name of your category (frozen pizza, furniture dealership, computer repair service). In the second blank, describe your zag (that tastes like Naples; that sells sustainably manufactured furniture; that makes house calls). If you can’t keep it brief and use the word ONLY, then you don’t have a zag. Your best option in that case is to make a list of all the competitors who could make the same claim, then start to shift your strategy away from theirs.

Remember, a zag is not merely differentiation, but RADICAL differentiation. So when my local bank bought a fifty-foot outdoor poster emblazoned with the tagline, ...

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