This is a series about building and testing your messaging, positioning, and value proposition

#1 - Messaging & Positioning Template for Social Impact Leaders
#2 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Core Unmet Needs
#3 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Ideal Client Profile
#4 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Differentiator
#5 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Marketplace Category
#6 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Overcoming Objections I (Proof & Use Case)
#7 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Overcoming Objections II (Offers)
#8 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Testing
#9 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Learning from Data

Differentiated Solution: Bridging the Gap to Their Dream Outcome

Now that you have a deeper understanding of your target market’s unmet needs, we now get into describing your unique solution and why it’s better than your ideal client profile’s top existing solutions.

Here’s one formula to get you started:

Unique differentiator

[Use case] is better with [our secret sauce — the top unique activity or feature giving you a new capability that overcomes the top limitation of today’s solutions], getting you [special or 10x value]

At Joyful Ventures, our innovation advisors specialize in helping social impact leaders like you create people-first innovation that maximize your and your organization’s impact.

Part 1) Top unique activity

In essence, this is your secret sauce – the top way you help your target market overcome the gap between their desired outcome and existing solutions.

Because you’re enabling them to do a specific set of actions they weren’t able to do before, you’re giving them special, new capabilities that empower them to better or entirely new types of impact.

One common challenge is that there might be many aspects of your solution that help them with their core unmet needs.

Given that, I often see folks creating a laundry list, which ultimately “hides” your most powerful capability.

Instead, in top-level messaging like this, it’s best to choose your top one — or at most two — items.

To do that systematically, I first recommend you brainstorm a set of options and then prioritize your top one based on a few strategic criteria.

Step 1: Brainstorm

When you're trying to stand out, there are a few common patterns from successful innovators you can use to spark ideas.

Skim the below and brainstorm more differentiators that address the core unmet needs you’ve identified in your target segment.

i) Bright Spots

Go back to the exercise I recommended to find your idea client segment:

Messaging and Positioning Template: Ideal Client Profile

Revisit the specific differentiators that most compelled your bright spots to take action. Compare them against differentiators that didn’t land quite as well and note them.

Gathering evidence quality for these beliefs—such as differentiators that are most linked to sales, for instance—will help validate or challenge your assumptions about what customers truly value.

ii) Power Up

Become a critical power up missing on a rapidly-growing platform critical to your segment.

Think about how you could be the critical add-on that makes a popular platform even better — ideally one you and your segment is already using.

Grammarly is a great example of this. They became a crucial writing assistant “power up” you can download across various platforms like Google Chrome. By integrating seamlessly widely-used tools, Grammarly filled a gap in writing and editing capabilities that these platforms were missing. Grammarly now has a valuation of $13 billion.

iii) Borrow

Add validated ideas from other industries and delete or reduce low-value ones from your own

Incorporate validated ideas, such as features or value delivery models, or go-to-market strategies, from different analogous industries targeting the same or similar target buyer segment. Because they’ve shown to make them work, you take on smart risks to enhance a business's differentiation.

(Optional) One way to get at this is to ask your target market about experiences they love in other areas of their life or on their top needs.

Core features

Cirque du Soleil exemplifies this approach by merging elements from both the circus and theater industries to create a unique entertainment experience and removing costly, unpopular ones.

They integrated theatrical storytelling and high production values—features validated in theatrical performances—into their acrobatic shows. By challenging the traditional circus model, which relied heavily on animal acts and star performers, Cirque du Soleil crafted a new form of entertainment that resonated with adult audiences willing to pay premium prices.

This innovative blend not only set them apart from conventional circuses but also attracted a broader demographic, demonstrating how drawing features from other industries can redefine market boundaries and create new demand.

Value delivery system

A value delivery system is a set of inputs working together to create and deliver core features to customers and other stakeholders, including pricing models, supply chain, vendors, distribution channels, technology/patents, and governance/ownership mechanisms.

By changing the inputs by which you deliver value to your customers, many of which have been taken for granted, you can craft new capabilities that tackle unmet needs and/or vastly outcompete existing solutions.

Uber's ride-sharing platform stands out as a prime example of a reimagined value delivery model.

Taking cues from the peer-to-peer or sharing economy approach popularized by companies like Airbnb, Uber departed from the traditional taxi service model. Rather than employing professionally licensed drivers and maintaining a fleet of vehicles, the company embraced a system where everyday drivers use their personal cars.

This approach fundamentally changed the cost and value structure: Passengers now enjoy reduced fares and quicker service as a result of bypassing expensive taxi medallions. Uber's operational costs decreased substantially with this "asset light" strategy. Drivers found opportunities for flexible work arrangements. (Yet, questions have emerged about Uber's treatment of drivers, which may be prompting some consumers to seek out more ethical alternatives, including platform cooperative models.)

iv) Integrate

Integrate siloed applications or become a “one stop shop.”

Becoming a tool that helps integrate different systems together is a powerful differentiation strategy. This approach allows your product to serve as a central hub within your customers' ecosystems, enhancing their overall workflow and efficiency. This integration capability not only increases the value of your product but also enhances customer loyalty and reduces churn, as businesses are less likely to switch to competitors if they rely on your tool to connect their essential applications.

Zapier is a prime example of successfully implementing this strategy. By connecting over 7,000 apps, Zapier enables users to automate workflows without the need for extensive coding or development efforts. Their platform allows users to create "Zaps," which are automated workflows that trigger actions in one app based on events in another.

Another spin on this is to become a single platform for a set of workflows or popular technology, such as AI. This works well when your market segment is dealing with a bunch of fragmented, poorly integrated tools.

Zoho's a great example of this strategy. They launched Zoho One in 2017, offering 40+ integrated apps in one account at an incredibly cost-effective price, enabling businesses to just purchase one platform and meet most of their enterprise resource planning (ERP) needs. However, they started with simple CRM for small offices and home businesses, then expanded to serve larger companies over time once they had more resources.

However, I don’t recommend this for new innovators with fewer resources, as it becomes incredibly difficult to do 20 things well. This can work really well for established innovators, like Microsoft or Google that already have a ton of different services and can package them to outcompete against smaller point solutions.

Example: Brainstorm

Let’s circle back to the top limitation of your target “frustrating manual donor events data tracking.” You brainstorm a number of possible solution components:

White glove onboarding with your customer success team

Add on integration for the top CRM as part of their app marketplace

Mobile-first AI voice assistants that enable real-time data capture hands-free

Outcome-based or usage-based pricing

Donor analytics dashboard on donor journeys and events

All in one CRM, event management system, and donor analytics

Now, how do you choose between these differentiators? You don’t want to discuss too many to avoid burying your strengths.

Step 2: Prioritize

Score each solution component on impact on limitation and uniqueness.

Rate (from 1-5, high) each differentiator on how well it addresses limitations you’ve identified and on how differentiated it is compared to the competition or existing workarounds.

Example: Prioritize

Drawing from the running example, create a table like the below, which clearly puts the AI voice assistant and all-in-one as two promising distinctions.

To mitigate the risks associated with demonstrating the impact on the sales and customer success process, you add a white glove onboarding package.

However, after scoring uniqueness, you realize this isn’t something you’d emphasize in your core messaging, as it is not a unique feature of your offering.

Next, we’ll discuss how several tie breaks help you identify your top differentiator.

Brainstormed solution differentiators	Proven impact on limitation	Uniqueness
White glove onboarding with your customer success and donor analytics team	4	1
Integration with the top CRM	3	1
Mobile-first AI voice assistants that enable real-time data capture hands-free	3.5	5
Outcome-based or usage-based pricing	2	5
Donor analytics dashboard	1	4
All in one	4	4

Step 3: Tie Break

In some situations, especially when you’re pre-product market fit and haven’t fully developed your core capability or if you’re facing lots of ties, consider the following factors.

Complexity / Cost

When evaluating the complexity of implementing each proposed value proposition, consider the various stakeholders involved and the potential hurdles that may arise during execution.

For example, if a value proposition requires coordination among office administrators, healthcare providers, and patients, it may face resistance due to differing priorities or operational challenges.

By assessing this complexity, you can prioritize propositions that are not only innovative but also practical and achievable within your organizational context, thereby increasing the chances of long-term success and retention

Your Advantages

Rate how well each differentiator aligns with your organization's unique advantages is crucial for establishing credibility and trust with your target market.

If a value proposition draws on your existing expertise, resources, or reputation in a specific area, it is more likely to resonate with customers who value those strengths.

This alignment can enhance your competitive edge and facilitate smoother implementation, as stakeholders are more inclined to support initiatives that are backed by proven capabilities and established credibility within the field.

Evidence Quality

Objectively assessing your solution's uniqueness is crucial but very challenging, especially after you’ve made significant investment into it. You can have rose colored glasses about how good your solution actually is compared to your competitors. Here are efficient methods to improve your evidence quality:

Competitor marketing materials: Scrutinize their websites and key marketing materials

Experience the competition: Use competing solutions firsthand and evaluate how well it achieves the dream outcome versus your own

Social listening: Search reddit, conferences, or other social forums to see how your target talks about the alternative solution or workaround

Example: Tie Break

Going back to the example, let’s add these columns in and focus on just the ties to simplify the analysis and recognizing the two prior criteria are the most important

Brainstormed solution differentiators	Proven impact on limitation	Uniqueness	Complexity	Unique Advantages	Evidence
Mobile-first AI voice assistants that enable real-time data capture hands-free	3.5	5	3	4	4
All in one	4	4	5	2	1

In this example, the AI assistant is simpler because it focuses on one technology, leading to fewer dependencies for a sale and adoption. Unlike an all-in-one solution, it doesn't require approvals and usage from multiple teams like finance, IT, or development to succeed.

While a platform-level integrated solution might seem more impactful, this specialized approach aligns better with your unique advantages. Your team's strengths lie in data and AI engineering, and as HealthyDonor's founder, you bring a strong background in data analytics. However, you lack expertise in other major domains like event management.

You have strong proof that your approach works. While it’s not fully used by many customers yet, it has helped your first client avoid difficult data gathering when resources are low. The all-in-one platform, however, is just an untested idea. Although similar methods have worked for companies like ZoHo, there’s less direct evidence it will succeed in your case.

Part 2) Unique or 10x Benefit

Many people hesitate to try new solutions because they think it will require too much money, effort, or time compared to the potential benefits.

To overcome this reluctance, focus on significantly reducing the time and effort required for clients to experience the promised benefits.

The quicker and more substantial the value they receive, the more attractive and valuable your offer will seem.

Step 1) Share specifics

To accomplish this, share the time and amount of improvement you can create; it’ll distinguish you from substitutes and competitors. This also helps you think of your north star as you iterate on your program or product – so you can follow through on your promise.

However, I caution you against doing this if you cannot confidently deliver that type of value so you don’t overpromise and underdeliver.

Here’s one example illustrating this principle: “Our course teaches you to code” versus “Learn how to code in 1 month.” Concreteness helps make your value proposition more compelling.

Step 2) Confirm ability to follow through

These numbers should be better than what happens today but also not too unbelievable; again, make sure you can credibly follow through on these promises.

For instance, claiming you can do this in one day would likely not be credible, unless you changed your framing of the dream outcome, but saying it will take a year might sound slower or more resource-intensive than doing it themselves.

Example: Bringing everything together

To refresh, here are the unmet need and unique solution formulas:

Core unmet need

[“Solution Name ”]: [Marketplace category] for [ideal client / target market] [with use case]. Get [dream outcome] [without top 1-2 biggest limitations of today’s solutions]

Unique differentiator

[Use case] is better with [our secret sauce — the top unique activity or feature giving you a new capability that overcomes the top limitation of today’s solutions], getting you [special or 10x value]

Here are the applications of each

Core Unmet Need

DonorFamily: Donor engagement system for community health fundraisers who want to personalize campaigns. Grow thriving donor communities and minimize churn — without tedious data segmentation and reporting gymnastics.

Unique differentiator

Our AI crafts personalized campaigns for you, quietly learning from your data, while delivering reports your leadership will love. By tapping into their passions, your campaigns quickly get donors to become part of your mission's family — doubling retention in just six months.

Next: Marketplace Category

In many ways, this is equivalent to the “topic sentence” of your entire value proposition, which is why I recommend we tackle it after you’ve clarified your value proposition.

See the next article in the series below

This is a series about building and testing your messaging, positioning, and value proposition

#1 - Messaging & Positioning Template for Social Impact Leaders
#2 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Core Unmet Needs
#3 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Ideal Client Profile
#4 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Differentiator
#5 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Marketplace Category
#6 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Overcoming Objections I (Proof & Use Case)
#7 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Overcoming Objections II (Offers)
#8 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Testing
#9 - Messaging & Positioning Template: Learning from Data

Three Opportunities with Joyful Ventures

• Want a Template? Request one here
• Looking for guidance? Get your free innovation audit
• Want updates? Subscribe below 👇

Messaging and Positioning Template: Marketplace Category Messaging and Positioning Template: Core Unmet Needs

Dan Wu, JD/PhD

Messaging and Positioning Template: Differentiator

Differentiated Solution: Bridging the Gap to Their Dream Outcome

Part 1) Top unique activity

Step 1: Brainstorm

i) Bright Spots

ii) Power Up

iii) Borrow

iv) Integrate

Example: Brainstorm

Step 2: Prioritize

Example: Prioritize

Step 3: Tie Break

Example: Tie Break

Part 2) Unique or 10x Benefit

Example: Bringing everything together

Next: Marketplace Category

Three Opportunities with Joyful Ventures

Related Posts

Messaging and Positioning Template for Social Impact Leaders

5 Great Questions for Nonprofit Storytelling and Donor Retention

Messaging and Positioning Template: Learning From Data