Our Story

Being DIFFERENT

When companies are created, they initially set out to be different from their competitors in the market.  Most business owners are smart enough to realize that successful companies usually have highly differentiated products and services from the rest of industry.  They know that there can only be one market leader and they strive to position their company as that leader.  So they usually look for something new and fresh that will help them standout.

They look at their products and services and try to put a unique spin on each that clearly sets them apart from their competitors. They follow that up with talk about being different in their marketing materials. They use words like ‘innovative’ to describe their products and services. Some companies might even be bold enough to call themselves ‘disruptive.’

Yet even with these efforts, over time the result is often the same. They simply morph into a ‘me-too’ company – a company that appears to be the same as others in their industry and fails to stand out. 

Or worse yet, they lose their competitive edge and simply get passed by their competitors or a new industry disruptor. Remember companies such as Polaroid, Lotus 1-2-3, WordPerfect, Xerox and Sears? Each of these companies where once the market leaders in their industry and are now either out of business or irrelevant in the marketplace.

So why is being different so hard to sustain?

Diverge and Surge is a consulting company that was founded to answer this simple question – and to provide actionable strategies for companies looking for ways to create sustainable differentiation.

We understand that being different is simple yet quite complicated.  We know that being different isn’t always better. The reality is that the worst company in your industry is most likely quite different from the rest of the industry.  The key is to be different in ways that are relevant to your customers. Difference that your customers can’t easily recognize is not relevant.

Relevant difference is what helps companies get the competitive edge. Prospects and customers can quickly understand what sets your company apart from your competitors and more importantly – they find value in that difference.

Creating this sustaining relevant difference requires divergent thinking, a different set of strategies and a concerted company effort that touches almost every part of your business. This is the complicated part and we can help you navigate that part. 

How can we help you?

Whether it is a slight tweak to a product or process, or a full-blown initiative, we are confident that we can help you. We have been helping companies with problems or initiatives in all of the 7 P’s of business (Purpose, Position, People, Processes, Products, Pricing, Promotion) by developing strategies and implementing tactics to produce simple, scalable, and sustainable results that create relevant difference.