Differentiation is essential to small business success. It is common, however, to confuse branding and differentiation. What's the difference? When you create a branding statement, you are carving out an identity for your company. You are painting a picture of how you'd like your company to be perceived. But no small business can be all things to all people. Differentiation is what sets you apart from your competition. When you differentiate, you take a specific position. It absolutely cannot be the same position as your competitor. (If you take the same position as your competitor, you only reinforce your competitor's strength.) In order to make an impact, you must position yourself within narrow perimeters. If it is too wide or too encompassing, all you will achieve is confusion. Yes, it's difficult to give up a market, but remember: your business is a small business. You have limited resources and finances. In order to make an impact, you must go niche, limit, and give up some market sectors. I offer you my own company, PRO, as an example. PRO, or President's Resource Organization, creates peer advisory boards just for small business leaders. When establishing PRO, I could have taken the position that PRO creates peer advisory boards for business leaders, period. But I chose to give up the medium and large business sectors so I could focus on the small business owner. I then created a program that specifically addresses the needs of the small business owner. Giving up the medium and large business sectors freed me to become a small business specialist. That gives me a more compelling story to tell, and also provides a clear target for my marketing efforts. In the car rental world, Hertz is known as the largest agency. Avis, on the other hand, has taken the position that "We Try Harder." Avis has further reinforced its differentiation by becoming an employee-owned company. The premise: when you deal with an Avis employee, you're actually dealing with an owner. As an owner, that person would naturally "try harder." It's a brilliant differentiation strategy. You can do the same for your company. If your competition has already taken a position, find another one for yourself. If your competition has not taken a clear position, you have the freedom to differentiate yourself however you like. Choose the position you want, and be ready to leave the others behind.