Our competitors are all marketing themselves as AI-powered, making our technology-driven differentiation claims feel like table stakes. How do we use our V/TO® to discover a true differentiator that goes beyond simply having AI in our software stack?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When everyone is screaming that they are AI-powered, the technology itself ceases to be a differentiator. It becomes table stakes. To find your true differentiation, you must look at your V/TO® and deeply examine your Three Uniques.

Your Three Uniques are the combination of three things that make you completely different from your competitors. Individually, your competitors might have one or two, but no one else has all three. AI alone is never one of your uniques. Instead, look at how you pair AI with your human talent to create an experience your competitors cannot replicate.

Economists Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee have pointed out that the strategic advantage goes to those who co-invent new business processes, not just those who adopt the technology. Your differentiation lies in how you utilize automated systems to deliver a superior, high-touch client experience.

Use your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ to run an IDS® session on your current marketing strategy. Ask yourself: If our competitors have access to the exact same AI models we do, what is the one thing we do that they cannot copy? Usually, it is our deep industry relationships, our proprietary operational processes, or our unique proven process. That is where your true differentiation lives.