Product differentiation is a process used by businesses to distinguish a product or service from other similar ones available in the market. Factors that make the product unique from another company or business’s product is what differentiation is called as. Quality, product design, convenience, valuation, product aesthetics, packaging, customer service, technology, user experience, and form are some of the means of differentiating products and services.
Each of the differentiating factors mentioned above impacts our purchasing habits in a way or other. But shrinking that list to top three, those factors would be valuation, user experience, and convenience. Looking further into this with examples starting off with valuation, both Apple and Acer produce laptops. While I was exploring for an option to get one, I went with the high-end laptop of Acer looking at the feature they provided along with the benefits that I can avail with the same. The pricing would have been same for both the product but the valuation that I had for Acer was a lot higher than the Apple to go with the same. Valuation, in this regard, is something that defines the perceived value, and I was inclined towards it as my valuation of the product exceeded the cost I was paying for the same.
Moving towards a brand that excels at a number of these means of differentiation reminds me of Alphabet Inc., Apple, PayPal. Alphabet Inc. the company which own Google and so many other services have been able to simplify the life of people with searches and results to it at the fingertips within minutes, maps to navigate around to documents, presentation and so many more, the company have added convenience, made use of the technology, ensuring the quality and product aesthetics are good in their hardware design (smartphones) and added a fantastic customer support to their customers. Apple has been able to provide a quality product with good design, product aesthetics, and packing. While PayPal has added convenience to people’s life by making it possible to send and receive money all via a single click instead of visiting the banks, they’ve made use of the technology in the best way possible.
In conclusion, it’s very important to differentiate a product in the market and stand out among the mass. People have their own personal preference and factors they value the most important when it comes to differentiating factors.
