November 6, 2025 • 34 mins
How to Stand Out in a Sea of B2B Sameness
When it comes to B2B marketing, standing out can be quite a challenge. When every business is saying the same things, how do you differentiate yourself from the sea of sameness? In this episode of Cocktails, Tangents, and Answers, hosts Rich and Zac discuss "invisible differentiators." What they are and how you can use them to stand out!
The Modern English cocktail, crafted by New York bartender Michael Waterhouse, offers a fresh spin on the classic gin sour. This vibrant drink combines high-quality gin with tart lemon wedges, the subtle sweetness of maple syrup, and the crisp essence of fresh pear. The result is a balanced cocktail that’s both approachable and complex.
Recipe Credit: https://www.liquor.com/recipes/modern-english/
Ingredients:
- 1/4 fresh pear, peeled, seeded and cubed
- 2 lemon wedges
- 1/2 ounce maple syrup
- 2 1/2 ounces Bulldog gin
- Garnish: cinnamon stick (optional)
Directions:
- In a shaker, muddle the fresh pear, lemon wedges and maple syrup.
- Add the gin and fill with ice, and shake until well-chilled.
- Double-strain into a coupe glass.
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Host: Rich Mackey
Producer: Zac Hazen
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rich (00:07):
In competitive B2B markets, most companies say
they're different, yet theirmessaging, visuals, and customer
experience a lot of times lookidentical to everybody else.
Um the strongestdifferentiators aren't always
visible.
Um you feel them, they'reinvisible, they're intangible,
they're hidden.
So how do marketers uncover andcommunicate what really sets
their brand apart?
(00:27):
Let's find out.
Let's do that.
All right.
So the term invisibledifferentiators or hidden
differentiators, we're throwingthat out, Zach.
What the hell is that?
Zac (00:38):
Um, so how do I explain this?
It's basically a certain je nesais it's the things that set
your brand apart that aren'tnecessarily seen, right?
So a lot of the times we'refocused on things like features,
price, visuals.
But how do you actually buildtrust and go things beyond that?
(01:01):
Because there's a in B2Bmarketing, there's a lot of
sameness, right?
Yep.
Rich (01:06):
Oh, tons.
And I think, you know, when itcomes to consumer products as
well, a great one that I alwaysthink of is Coke versus Pepsi,
right?
So for me, they do tastedifferent, but you know, when
Costco only had Pepsi, they'veswitched to Coke now, but when
they only had Pepsi, I would getmy hot dog and a Pepsi for
$1.50.
And I would drink the Pepsi andI wouldn't feel bad about it.
(01:26):
But like if I had my choice, Iwould always go Coke.
So do I go with Coke because ofthe taste?
Or is that only part of it?
Is part of it also thenostalgia?
As a kid, we watched the Disneymovie on Sunday nights.
We we were able to have a Cokein the evening, which was rare
for like the sugar and thecaffeine.
We got a candy bar, we hadpopcorn, and that was kind of
our Sunday evening ritual.
(01:47):
Um, so is that a piece of it?
Is it the I'd like to teach theworld to sing song?
Is it the polar bears?
Is it the Santa trucks?
Like, yes, taste matters, butthere's all this thing around
Coke that has nothing to do withtaste that keeps me tied to the
brand.
Um, and I think it's also whywhen Coke changed their formula
(02:10):
and they did new Coke, which wasawful, it was to be more like
Pepsi because Pepsi was gainingmarket share.
People revolted.
They didn't just switch toPepsi or stop drinking Coke.
They basically protested thecompany and demanded, and then
you got Coke Classic back.
So even when that thing that'sthe tangible goes away, you want
(02:32):
that thing back and you pushthe company to do it.
So I agree.
Like, you know, with consumerproducts, you have a lot of
things.
There's color, there's quality,there's taste, there's build,
there's performance, like allthose things.
And you have some of thosethings with B2B, but we go
through this as well.
Like, you know, what makes usdifferent than other marketing
agencies?
Oh, it's our people.
(02:53):
Uh-huh.
And every marketing agency saysit's their people.
So what makes our peopledifferent, or what makes us
different?
So I think this is going to bereally fun to tuck into.
Um, and I'm really excitedabout it.
But um, we should probably doour cocktail.
Yeah.
So we're doing the modernEnglish.
Zac (03:12):
Yes.
What the what is that, Zach?
So this is another fall drink,but it's not so much so that
it's like, oh, this time it'smore of like an upscale, like
higher-end version of a falldrink, right?
It's not witches brew or likesomething super themed.
Yeah.
Rich (03:31):
Um Harry Potter's Christmas beer butter or
anything like that orbutterbeer.
Butterbeer, yeah, that's whatit's called.
Zac (03:36):
So this is the modern English.
It comes from MichaelWaterhouse, a longtime New York
City bartender and barconsultant.
Um, so this is a gin sour,similar to a gimlet, but
flavored with pear.
But what makes it gimlet, mybad.
It's okay.
I feel like I always I'm herefor you.
I'm here for you.
Thank you.
All right, so a gimlet, butwhat makes it different than a
(03:58):
normal gimlet, which is usuallyfresh squeezed lemon juice,
simple syrup, and some kind ofwell, it would be some kind of
pear syrup or pear liqueur forwhich flavor of pear this is.
But um instead, this uses lemonwedges, maple syrup, and a pear
slice all muddled muddledtogether in what's called
bulldog gin.
Oh, I have bulldog gin.
Rich (04:18):
Um, it's a good one.
It's um it is really good.
Um, I had my I'm finishing mycoffee and like it's got caramel
and I'm a little sticky.
Um, but yeah, so this one I waslike, I was like, what the hell
is this?
So first of all, I think yousay gimlet because you get you
came right off gin and thengimlet, so you're used to that
soft g.
Um, but yeah, that's okay.
No worries.
Um I was like, I don't knowwhat this is, and then I looked
(04:41):
at it and I'm like, oh, I wantthis like right now.
Like, this is a breakfast drinkto me.
Um, so you get a quarter of afresh pear, so that's like
probably a couple slices,peeled, seeded, and cubed.
Um, because you don't need thepeels in there, the peels don't
muddle.
Two lemon wedges, and those canhave the rind on them, it's
fine.
Uh, half ounce of maple syrup,two and a half ounces of bulldog
(05:02):
gin, or your favorite gin, butI would definitely try to get a
genuine English gin for thisone.
Um, and then you can garnish itwith a cinnamon stick if you
want to.
I mean, cinnamon and pear andlemon and maple syrup, like oof.
I know.
Um, so in a shaker, you throwin the fresh pear lemon wedges
and the maple syrup and youmuddle that.
Uh, so hopefully you have amuddler.
(05:23):
Um, if not, you can use, youknow, like a spoon or almost
anything that'll just get inthere.
Um, you add the gin, fill itwith ice, and shake it until
it's well chilled.
Now you got a lot of stuff inthere with the pulp from the
lemon and uh fruit and the rindand all that.
So you're gonna double strainit into a coupe glass.
So you're gonna basically whatI do with these is I strain it
(05:44):
into like a measuring cup orsomething.
And from the measuring cup, Istrain it into my coupe glass so
that you get that double straingoing.
Uh, and then garnish it with acinnamon stick and then wow,
refreshing.
Zac (05:56):
It also I love it.
Rich (05:58):
It seems like aside from you need fresh pears, um, which
you can get year-round becausethey grow them in other
countries and whatnot, but umthis would be a good summer
drink.
I could see this just like a asa porch sipper, I think is what
we call them, right?
Zac (06:11):
Mm-hmm.
I it could be honestly, itcould be good any time of year.
The reason that I like it as afall cocktail is because of the
maple syrup and cinnamon.
I feel like those are kind ofwarmer flavors.
I also like that they uh cubedthe pear.
I think that's reallyinteresting.
I think that'll like I reallywant to try this one.
Rich (06:31):
Yeah, you know what I want to do now too is um like I made
mango margaritas um a whileback.
You know, we got some frozen,fresh frozen mango from Costco.
Uh I want to do a pearmargarita, like with actual like
fresh pear.
I think that would probably begood.
Pear and tequila?
Sounds interesting.
All right, well, maybe anothertime.
If I if I invent that drink,I'll let you know.
I'll look it up and see ifsomebody else has first, though.
(06:52):
Well, who knows?
All right.
So uh I think we can take aquick break and come back and
talk about uh invisibledifferentiators and get a little
more detailed into that for B2Emarketers.
All right, we are back to talkabout invisible differentiators.
(07:16):
So um I think that like, youknow, that thing you can't feel
with companies, with brands,with business partners is always
interesting.
Um, I mean, people can stay inrelationships, right?
Too like, you know, when youand Chloe got together, there
was probably like there was thetangible stuff where, you know,
how she talks, how she treatsyou, how she looks, all of that.
(07:37):
But there was probablysomething as well that was just
like, I don't know, I just feelgood when I'm with her.
Like, true, yeah, that kind ofthing.
So as humans, we're wired forthat.
And so as marketers in B2Bbusinesses, you can tap into
that.
So um, why is it important,Zach?
Like, why do we care aboutthese invisible differentiators?
Zac (07:56):
Well, 83% of B2B buyers say who buyers who trust a brand
say they're more likely tocontinue doing business with
them, even when competitorsoffer similar products or
services.
So I think that's some that'simportant, right?
Like that trust that invisibleinvisible differentiators
create.
Rich (08:15):
Right.
Yeah, when you've got acommodity, like when what you're
doing becomes a commodity,what's different about you?
You know, and yeah, you canchange your product, you can
change your pricing and allthat.
Competing on pricing is notsustainable ever.
Uh Walmart learned that thehard way and has tried to kind
of bounce back from it.
But yeah, it's like, what isthat thing that keeps me with
(08:36):
you if somebody else is offeringthe exact same thing you do?
Zac (08:42):
Exactly.
Uh I I have another stat that Iwant to share.
Rich (08:46):
I mean, I think this is a good one.
It's why it's important, right?
Like, because what do we careabout?
Revenue.
We care about the bottom line.
So go ahead.
Zac (08:52):
Maintaining consistent branding and messaging can boost
revenue by as much as 33%.
Reinforcing how clarity andcohesion quietly build
credibility over time.
Rich (09:03):
Yeah.
So it'll like one, people careabout it.
And even in a B2B space, I careabout who I'm working with and
I care about those things beyondwhat I'm getting.
And that's why we pay more forstuff, right?
Which is with the boostingrevenue by 33%.
If you've got thatdifferentiator, you're going to
be able to charge more andpeople won't mind because
(09:24):
there's this other thing keepingthem with you.
It's not about price.
Now, you can't just jack pricesthrough the roof.
Like that's not gonna work.
But you can charge a little bitmore and you know, apparently
about a third more, um,according to statistics.
Um, so let's talk about someinvisible differentiators.
Like we know they'reintangible, features, pricing,
(09:45):
visuals, those are alltangibles.
Got it, your color, all ofthose things.
Um, but what are um, I don'tknow, what are some in invisible
things that you found as youwere going through prep for
this?
Zac (09:55):
I think for me, reliability is a huge one.
If a company always delivers ontheir promises or communicates
like really proactively, I thinkI subconsciously trust them
more, right?
Even if someone else offers acheaper deal, if that trust is
being built where I can see thatthey're reliably uh say doing
what they say, that's a big onefor me.
(10:17):
Like it's one thing to promisea lot of things, right?
But actually delivering on thatpromise is another.
Yep, 100%.
I think that's what makes it aninvisible differentiator,
right?
It's hard to prove thatsometimes to somebody that
hasn't worked with you before.
And I know we'll cover like howyou can kind of showcase these
invisible differentiators later,but yeah, that's it's a big one
(10:41):
for me.
Rich (10:42):
Yeah, I think that's a good one.
Um, like like the experience,right?
I I always kind of go back tothat experience is your brand.
It's not necessarily just yourcolor colors and logo and all
that stuff.
But that experience, kind ofwe're drilling into that on what
is that that gives people whatthey want.
I think there's also a pieceabout with B2B, we always talk
(11:06):
about like, do we want to go todinner or lunch with these
people?
Do we want to have drinks withthese people, independent of
working with them?
So if you're working with anagency and they came to your
town, because most of us areremote now anyway, like people
are working with agencies allover the country.
Um would you want to, would yoube excited to go to dinner with
(11:26):
them?
Or if your boss is like, hey,we're gonna go to dinner with
the agency, would you be like,oh, okay, those guys, yeah,
that's great.
That's a big one in ourbusiness.
And I think it's a big one inin sales, in B2B sales.
I've got a friend who does, Ihonestly don't know what he
does.
It's some sort of IT thing forvery large companies.
And we were talking about howum, you know, they'll blow money
(11:48):
on golf.
And he's like, it's not aboutthe money for the golf or doing
this, it's giving them thisexperience at a unique golf
course that's really expensive,but it's also spending that day
with them and being human andlaughing and having jokes and
having inside jokes and gettingthem to like me as their rep so
that when we get to the contractnegotiations, it goes smoother
(12:09):
and things work better.
And I'm like, yeah, that's ahundred percent right.
Zac (12:12):
And you can't really measure things like that, right?
You can't measure vibes orempathy, but you can definitely
feel them.
And that feeling, thatemotional signal that like kicks
in before the logic is exactlykind of what we're talking
about, and things that you needto consider.
Because if you're mainlyfocusing on we need to be the
cheapest, we need to be, we needto have, you know, the best
(12:35):
visuals, but you won't have anysubstance behind it, you're
really gonna suffer when itcomes to these invisible,
invisible differentiators thatare actually driving people
towards your business.
Rich (12:45):
So yeah, as I was looking this up, like um a couple things
came up, like operationalexcellence, like process came up
a lot as an invisibledifferentiator.
And even things like umlogistics were in there.
So logistics is intangible andtangible, but if you're really
good at logistics, yourcustomers won't know because
(13:07):
they won't have complaints.
You won't be out of stock, youwon't be late with delivering
things.
The thing that came up therewas uh Trader Joe's.
Um they have a lot of their ownunique products, they're
cheaper, but they also have thislike um oh, it's the the
treasure hunt sense ofdiscovery.
Yeah, although they don't havetheir own vibe.
(13:29):
We get into that in anotherepisode about some of the
internal vibes at Trader Joe's.
There's there's there's amythology and lore there that's
apparently pretty true.
Zac (13:36):
And I think like if you think about the cashiers too,
right?
Like that sense of discovery isreally cool where you're
finding these new products.
And my favorite is the frozensection.
I feel like they have the bestfrozen food.
You can get like frozen paella,and that's really good.
But yeah, it's wild.
Besides that, you think aboutthe cashiers, right?
Like they're always asking youabout your day.
(13:57):
I'm pretty sure they're trainedto like be like, oh, this is
awesome.
Like, have you ever had thisbefore?
Like, I use this and this,this, and that.
Rich (14:05):
And you get that at Costco.
My favorite though is when, andit happens at Costco a few
times, because Costco and TraderJoe is both right, like they
rotate stuff in, it's there andthen it's gone, which is where
that sense of discovery andadventure comes in.
Um, those are two of the storesthat I actually enjoy walking
every aisle in.
Most stores, like if I go toTarget, I honestly, if I go to
Target, I'm going to buy itonline and have them bring it to
(14:27):
my car.
I'm not even going to go intothe store because I don't want
to.
But um, Trader Dozen Costco,like, I'll always go in.
But when the cashier is like,oh wow, I hadn't seen that.
Have you had it yet?
Like, is it any good?
Like when you discover.
And part of me is like, okay,is it fake?
I've been taught to say that tomake me feel good.
(14:48):
Like, like I won the treasurehunt today and found something
new.
Um, but yeah, that affirmationis in there.
Zac (14:55):
But yeah, the reassurance where you get you find something
cool, and then they they say,Wow, this is a really good
thing.
Have you had it before?
I love it.
And then you're like, I made agood choice.
Rich (15:06):
Yeah.
Um, so the other thing is youflip it to B2B.
Obviously, Trader Joe's B2C,um, but B2B, um, there is, you
do have logistics, you do haveoperational excellence, and it's
like how you deliver whateveryou're delivering.
It could be like stuff out ofyour brain.
It doesn't have to be atangible thing.
Um, and improving that issomething we talk about a lot,
is just improving our processesand getting smoother and
(15:27):
quicker.
And the funny thing is, itmakes it feel better for your
employees too.
Like if things are smooth,you've got good processes,
everybody knows what they are.
It's better for your customerand they're gonna have that
feeling.
And moreover, if they do gosomewhere else that isn't like
that, that's where they're gonnafeel it harder.
Sometimes you don't notice thatinvisible differentiator.
(15:50):
Like you said, like you canfeel the vibe, but you don't
know what it is until you'regone.
And then, like, you're like,oh, that's what it is.
I never had to worry aboutthings coming to me on time
because they always were.
And now I'm how constantlyreaching out and being like,
hey, where is this?
What's going on with this?
Zac (16:06):
Um, and I think you can boil that down to consistency,
right?
Consistency across everythingyou do because people that uh
you work with see that, right?
Are you consistently deliveringthings on time?
Are the processes that you'resharing with me and hammering
down into me, hammering into myhead, like actually working?
(16:26):
Yeah, 100%.
Yeah, so I think that boilsdown to consistency.
That's a good one too.
What like who would you say islike a good B2B brand or that
you can think of that like a B2Bcompany that like does a good
job of having invisibledifferentiators?
I was kind of thinking ofHubSpot because they provide a
lot of like resources and thepeople that you work with can be
(16:50):
consistent, but it didn'treally like click that much for
me.
So I was curious if you had anyoff the top of your head.
Rich (16:55):
Yeah, I mean, I mean HubSpot's an interesting one.
I think they're sort of hit andmiss on their invisible
differentiators.
Um, they are trying to innovatefaster, so they're they are
trying to make the physicalproduct different and better and
faster.
Um but yeah, and I do thinkthat the way their people relate
to you is a really interestingone.
So that that company culturefeels good.
(17:17):
You know, we like it when ourculture and a client's culture
like almost feel like you couldmerge them and they would just
overlap and be the same and benice because it's comfortable.
Um boy, B2B, B2B.
I'm trying to think of like whowe um who we shop with.
So I mean our bank actually.
So we use Dundee Bank in Omaha.
(17:38):
Shout out to the folks atDundee.
Um, small local bank.
Um, you know, some things aredifferent than you would get
from a giant corporate bank, butwhat isn't is I get the
responsive and they areproactively responsive.
So we have three accounts, andtwo of them are just for like
things coming in and going out.
So they go up and then they godown to almost zero, and they go
(17:59):
up and they go down to almostzero.
And sometimes we screw up anddon't transfer enough money to
cover like the giant Google billcoming out or you know, all of
the payroll, and it's in theoperating account.
It's just not in the payrollaccount.
Um, I had them like actuallycall me on a Friday afternoon to
say, hey, your payroll accountis like $6 negative, and they
(18:20):
have a like a 24-hour grace, Ithink it is, or something, like
before they'll do an overdraftfee.
So they're like, as long as youlike put money in there like
today, like just do a transfer,it'll like you'll be fine.
And it's like, so I hadn'tlooked at it.
I hadn't looked at the alert onmy phone because we all have
4,000 alerts on my phone.
But someone at the bank reachedout and was like, hey, I got
(18:41):
this alert and just wanted tolet you know, like, just
transfer like 10 bucks so thatit stays whole until your next
payroll.
Because he also knows, like,you know, our main account had
tons of money in it, totallyfine.
And he knows we use those othertwo to like run things through
and just keep them separate.
Um, so I think banking is aninteresting one where that um,
that service, that delivery,that proactiveness all become
(19:05):
good.
Zac (19:05):
That they had to like these Carmen, like Yeah.
Rich (19:09):
They've also just been easy to work with, like, right?
Like when I added Jessica tothe accounts, it was they're
like, well, she has to come inand sign some things, which I
get.
And so she was down here and wejust went in and they had all
the paperwork.
She signed it.
It took like five minutes andwe were out and we're done.
Um, when we did that with alarger corporate bank, it took
almost an hour to get it done.
Um it was so I think that's agood one.
Zac (19:31):
Yeah.
And I think honestly, thereason that we struggled to find
any companies that we couldthink of on the top of our head
is the whole point of thisepisode, right?
Things often get buried behindservices, pricing, like that
stuff.
So it's harder to differentiatefrom company to company.
And I think our next point,right, is why do some of these
(19:53):
individual and invisible uhdifferentiators get so buried or
lost?
And for me, I think I thinkit's like we've been saying,
right?
People are too focused on thesurface level things, great
service, customer-firstapproach, innovation.
Those are all easy to say, butit's all the same thing across
the entire industry.
Rich (20:14):
Yep, yeah.
And I think that that's whenyou um you start looking at
those things.
And I think so.
Like those are just likegeneric terms.
(20:42):
It's like, we're great.
Well, that's lovely.
That worked for Frosted Flakesfor a really long time, and um,
it doesn't work for you.
Um, I think a lot of companiesalso just don't know what their
intangibles are.
Um and and that can be a goodor a bad thing because you might
have them.
You might be delivering reallywell and you just don't know it,
(21:03):
but you should.
Um and you might just also nothave them.
Like you might just be this,you might be truly be this
boring B2B company that justdoes what everybody else does,
and you're fortunate to have thecustomer base you do, and
you're a look-alike, and peoplecan you that's a business model,
right?
Zac (21:21):
If that's you though, too.
I think it's important to askyourself if you stripped away
the logo, the price, and likeall those surface-level things,
what would make someone stillchoose your brand?
And chances are you canprobably come up with something.
Hopefully, if you can't, thenit's probably start, it's
probably time to start thinkingabout your brand as a whole and
what actually differentiatesyou.
Rich (21:43):
Yeah, and you can you can figure that out.
I mean, one, you can ask yourcustomers.
And if you get something like,I don't know, like we just
really vibe with you, likethat's okay.
That means that there'ssomething there that's
invisible.
Now, vibing is not adifferentiator, but there's
something under that that you'vegot to kind of unpack and
(22:04):
figure out.
Um, you can talk to youremployees too.
Like those are great places tofigure that out.
Zac (22:10):
I mean, you you nail it, right?
Your clients are able to tellwhat differentiates you because
they chose you.
So why did you choose us?
Like, get that insight fromthem.
Like I totally agree.
Rich (22:20):
Even more important when clients leave.
Why did you leave?
You know, what happened?
Like, did you fail on one ofyour like hidden differentiators
or invisible differentiators?
Like, have you shifted yourcompany and you this thing that
everybody likes about you youdidn't think was important, but
it actually really is?
Um, you know, did you did youget rid of their favorite person
(22:41):
at the company?
You know, that could happentoo.
Zac (22:43):
Well, and like thinking about that too, like why would
someone leave or maybe why yourinvisible differentiators aren't
really showing themselves andthey're still really invisible?
I think it breaks down to againconsistency, consistency across
your teams.
Is everyone on the same pagewith what makes you different?
And when marketing is puttingout marketing materials and like
(23:05):
promotional stuff, like does itlike reflect those invisible
differentiators and your brandas a whole?
Are they talking with sales?
Are the people that are sellingyour product or service like
actually, you know, putting outlike is everyone on the same
page?
Which goes back to processes aswell, right?
Like if nobody's on the samepage across your business or
(23:26):
there's a misalignment betweenleadership and the actual team
themselves, on what makes youdifferent, that can create some
confusion and bring you back to,oh, you know, we we have the
best price.
We, you know.
Rich (23:40):
Yep.
And I think that so what'sinteresting is you get to things
like speed and price uh andquality, and those independently
aren't necessarily adifferentiator.
But sometimes when you put themtogether, they can be.
So if you've got some sort ofproprietary technology or a
methodology, or you've honed aprocess to a point where you can
(24:01):
compete on price, but you alsodeliver faster than anybody else
competing on price, um, you'rein a really good spot.
Um, it's the old withmarketing, you know, fast, good,
cheap, pick two because youcan't have all three.
Well, if you can figure out howto do all three, that's gonna
be a hidden differentiator.
(24:22):
And people are gonna wonder,like, people, it's a thing that
people wonder, how do they doit?
How does this work?
Like, how do they get it to me?
And I don't have an issue withthe price, and it's super quick.
And I like what it is when Iget it.
Like those types of things umcan be really interesting.
Um, I think with AI, so I wason a webinar yesterday um with
(24:45):
another HubSpot partner.
They've created their own AIagents that do specific things,
like very detailed nichespecific things, but they're
things that almost everyoneusing a CRM would want to do.
And so, and the way that theydo it and the and the way you
can program it is super easy.
And so they're offering likefree trials and stuff, but
(25:05):
they're packaging them at like$100 a month, $150 a month to
have this AI agent in yourHubSpot portal.
Technology, right?
They created a combination ofthings with AI with an agent
that will go do this kind oflower level research stuff and
pull insights that would beharder for you to get or longer
(25:26):
for you to get.
That's a differentiator.
And then the price, I was like,I don't know if that price is
too much or too little.
Like, because it's just anagent, right?
Like it's not like a fullHubSpot suite.
But um, yeah, and they wereoffering, like, you know, you
can try it for 30 days and thenwe'll shut it off unless you
pay.
And it's like, okay, likethat's also a big one.
Try before you buy can be adifferentiator as well.
Zac (25:49):
True.
Yeah.
So how do you how do you makethese invisible differentiators
like actually visible?
Like, that's kind of like thenext point I definitely want to
cover.
Um, I think I think one way todo it, right?
And the it's probably the mostobvious, is to show the proof.
Create case studies, pulltestimonials, whatever you think
(26:13):
your invisible differentiatoris, or whatever your customers
are saying it is, you need tolike put that out there.
And getting it straight fromthe source is the easiest way.
Rich (26:23):
Yeah, and I think that if you're um you know, we we look
at certain things, and in someindustries price matters.
And even if you're notcompeting on price, you've got
to kind of list it.
But I think um if you're not asconcerned about price or you're
one of the more expensive inthe market, you can really push
those other pieces in yourtestimonials or in your case
studies or whatever, and notshow like it's basically here
(26:45):
was the problem, here's how wesolved it, and here's a little
hint at our secret sauce on howwe did it.
So you see things like, youknow, through our proven
proprietary process, we wereable to blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah.
Um so I I think that show,don't tell, but you also can't
(27:09):
show too much because um youwould you might risk somebody
else stealing it.
But ideally, if this is trulyunique to you, nobody can steal
it.
Zac (27:19):
Well, and it's it could be something as simple as right,
like some case studies arebetter than others.
It's the way you tell thestory.
And I think if you tell the stlike if you, for example, or say
we're really consistent likewith our clients, and we're able
to handle like I I don't evenknow, like we're able to handle
like difficult situations, likewhatever comes up.
(27:40):
You could like have that clienttell that story for you through
a case study or testimonial.
Rich (27:45):
So we got known as two things when we first started
working with HubSpot just byaccident.
One, we're the people who canum make you feel comfortable and
good again after you have a badexperience with another HubSpot
partner.
So we actually had HubSpot repscoming to us and being like,
hey, we've got a client who'sgonna churn, their partner
(28:07):
sucks, they're really upsetabout it.
We really need to save them.
And we've heard like you'vedone this a couple of times, and
you're pretty good at helpingpeople like step into maximizing
this and that you're nicepeople.
And it's like, okay, great.
Well, we'll do that.
Um, and so we've had several ofthose where we've just like,
we've actually stabilized therelationship they had with
HubSpot to keep them on thesoftware.
(28:30):
And that also then ingratiatesus to HubSpot, right?
That's one of our invisibledifferentiators for HubSpot, is
oh, they're really good athelping us keep and save
clients.
Um, our retention is alsohigher than most diamond
partners.
Um, and that's our businessmodel, right?
Like we hold on, we wanted thatdeep relationship, which is
probably one of our invisibledifferentiators.
Like we are more about therelationship than the short-term
(28:52):
profit, and we want you to bewith us 10, 15 years.
Um, the other thing we gotknown for is uh cleaning up
messes.
So my CRM's a mess, help meclean it up.
And it's it's not something wenecessarily love to do, um, but
it's it's good money and we knowhow to do it.
Um, and we've got like, and sothat got us to develop like
(29:13):
methodologies for okay, how dowe clean up faster?
Um and we have differentpricing.
If you have data hub, there'stools we can use to clean it up
much faster.
If you don't have data hub,we're going to charge you more
because it is more manual for usto do it.
Zac (29:25):
We're good at solving headaches.
Rich (29:27):
Yeah.
I think, you know, one of thethings that we have, I think,
um, and I've been thinking abouthow do we replicate this in
other areas, and we've actuallyhad clients ask us do you have
this for XYZ?
Our web process, right?
Websites are difficult, theytake forever, they never launch
on time, the client doesn'tenjoy them, the agency doesn't
(29:49):
enjoy them.
It's a big pain in the butt,but you get this really neat
thing at the end.
Well, Caitlin and Jesse satdown and they were like, How do
we fix this?
Because they're alsoprofitable.
So, how do we fix this?
And came up with an eight-stepprocess that is rigorous, that
we do and we educate clients on,we set the expectation and tell
them up front what theirresponsibility is and what ours
(30:12):
is.
And we go through it.
And the first website we didwith that ended on time, on
budget.
And everybody was like, thatwas actually a good experience.
We enjoyed doing that.
And it's only gotten betterwith, you know, since we started
doing only HubSpot websites.
Like we don't do WordPress oranything anymore.
So we know the technology.
Uh, we also have um specificpartners that we work with on
(30:34):
the technology side, buildingwebsites.
So all of that is kind of thisprocess where I think we can
say, and people will be like, Idon't believe you.
Like, oh, I can do good, fast,cheap.
Like people be like, yeah, youcan't.
When we say we can get yourwebsite done on time, on budget,
and you can enjoy the process.
Like as a former like marketerclient side, I'd be like,
(30:57):
bullshit.
Like you, that is just no.
But when we and when we promisethat and when we talk about it,
it's surprising.
And at the end, when we get ourC sets back, we deliver it.
So, and we had somebody elsewho asked her, like, do you have
that thing, like that processdocument for like how you
approach Google Ads?
And I'm like, no, because likewe, it's a whole different
(31:20):
thing.
Zac (31:20):
Can you replicate this so that we can have the same
experience that we feel the sameway we did when you were making
our website?
Rich (31:29):
And it was also about like uh getting approval from senior
leadership.
You know, they like seeing youhave this tangible thing that we
can measure.
Did you do each of thesethings?
Like, um, so there'saccountability there as well.
Accountability can be a secretsauce as well.
So yeah, it's interesting.
Zac (31:49):
Um right on the point.
Rich (31:52):
I know.
Before we close, I do want topoint out like if anybody has
been watching for a while,you've seen my Monstera back
here and it's been looking verysad.
I got a moss pole for it that'slike flexible, and I've wrapped
it around it because it wasjust like hanging over the edge
because it really wasn'tsupporting itself.
And it has no brown leaves,it's super happy, it's getting
more light.
So Caitlin is very pleased withme for how I've been taking
(32:15):
care of my Monstera, as isJessica.
Because they were both like,you need to do something with
that.
It looks really sad.
And I'm like, Yeah, it does.
Um, so and my bird of paradiseback here is still doing okay,
and there's a spider plantthat's just sort of hanging out.
But the Monstera.
It's a nice picture, it'slooking pretty good.
We should you should pull somestills like a before and after
from earlier episodes so we cantake a look.
Zac (32:37):
Sold that over.
I'll definitely put it in.
Rich (32:40):
All right.
Well, I think that was a goodone.
Um, and hopefully it helpseverybody to find their
invisible differentiators.
You can also create them.
Like they don't have to just beinherent that came up.
You can generate invisibledifferentiators.
It's hard or can be hard.
But, you know, look at yourculture, look at your
methodology, look at yourprocesses, look at your people,
(33:00):
like see what you're doingthat's different or what you
could be doing that's different.
Zac (33:06):
And I think the best part about invisible differentiators
is that they can't be copied, orthey normally can't be copied.
It's something that's unique toyou.
Anyone can match your productor price, but no one can
replicate how you make yourcustomers feel.
So Yep.
Rich (33:20):
And like even our eight-step web process, like,
yeah, you could go through thosesame steps, but we've got a
whole lot behind that ininfrastructure and partnerships
and processes and how we dothings that you'd have to figure
out because they're notinherent in the document.
Zac (33:34):
So and we talk about it a little bit in our webinar that
we did recently.
Yeah, we do.
We do probably put that in theshow notes to check it out.
Rich (33:40):
Yeah, definitely.
Zac (33:42):
All right.
It's an episode.
That is an episode.
As always, you can find ouragency at antidote71.com and all
of our socials there as well.
If you have a question you'dlike to send our way, head to
ctapodcast.live to shoot us anemail.
Or even better, leave us avoice message.
Uh, we know some of you arescared to call in.
(34:02):
Please do.
Our hotline is at 402-718-9971.
Your question will make it intoa future episode of the
podcast, and it will probably beits own episode at this point.
Rich (34:13):
So All right, Zach would love it because then he doesn't
have to plan an episode.
He gets like the topic handedto him in a question, and we
just go from there.
And we'll thoroughly answeryour question.
So all right.
Well, uh, we'll have anotherepisode next week.
Not sure what it is.
We're kind of getting throughthe holidays.
We'll have a little holidaybreak as well coming up.
But um, yeah, see you nextweek.
And it was good to see youagain, Zach.
(34:33):
Always a pleasure.
Zac (34:34):
Great seeing you.
See you next week.
In competitive B2B markets, most companies say
they're different, yet theirmessaging, visuals, and customer
experience a lot of times lookidentical to everybody else.
Um the strongestdifferentiators aren't always
visible.
Um you feel them, they'reinvisible, they're intangible,
they're hidden.
So how do marketers uncover andcommunicate what really sets
their brand apart?
(00:27):
Let's find out.
Let's do that.
All right.
So the term invisibledifferentiators or hidden
differentiators, we're throwingthat out, Zach.
What the hell is that?
Zac (00:38):
Um, so how do I explain this?
It's basically a certain je nesais it's the things that set
your brand apart that aren'tnecessarily seen, right?
So a lot of the times we'refocused on things like features,
price, visuals.
But how do you actually buildtrust and go things beyond that?
(01:01):
Because there's a in B2Bmarketing, there's a lot of
sameness, right?
Yep.
Rich (01:06):
Oh, tons.
And I think, you know, when itcomes to consumer products as
well, a great one that I alwaysthink of is Coke versus Pepsi,
right?
So for me, they do tastedifferent, but you know, when
Costco only had Pepsi, they'veswitched to Coke now, but when
they only had Pepsi, I would getmy hot dog and a Pepsi for
$1.50.
And I would drink the Pepsi andI wouldn't feel bad about it.
(01:26):
But like if I had my choice, Iwould always go Coke.
So do I go with Coke because ofthe taste?
Or is that only part of it?
Is part of it also thenostalgia?
As a kid, we watched the Disneymovie on Sunday nights.
We we were able to have a Cokein the evening, which was rare
for like the sugar and thecaffeine.
We got a candy bar, we hadpopcorn, and that was kind of
our Sunday evening ritual.
(01:47):
Um, so is that a piece of it?
Is it the I'd like to teach theworld to sing song?
Is it the polar bears?
Is it the Santa trucks?
Like, yes, taste matters, butthere's all this thing around
Coke that has nothing to do withtaste that keeps me tied to the
brand.
Um, and I think it's also whywhen Coke changed their formula
(02:10):
and they did new Coke, which wasawful, it was to be more like
Pepsi because Pepsi was gainingmarket share.
People revolted.
They didn't just switch toPepsi or stop drinking Coke.
They basically protested thecompany and demanded, and then
you got Coke Classic back.
So even when that thing that'sthe tangible goes away, you want
(02:32):
that thing back and you pushthe company to do it.
So I agree.
Like, you know, with consumerproducts, you have a lot of
things.
There's color, there's quality,there's taste, there's build,
there's performance, like allthose things.
And you have some of thosethings with B2B, but we go
through this as well.
Like, you know, what makes usdifferent than other marketing
agencies?
Oh, it's our people.
(02:53):
Uh-huh.
And every marketing agency saysit's their people.
So what makes our peopledifferent, or what makes us
different?
So I think this is going to bereally fun to tuck into.
Um, and I'm really excitedabout it.
But um, we should probably doour cocktail.
Yeah.
So we're doing the modernEnglish.
Zac (03:12):
Yes.
What the what is that, Zach?
So this is another fall drink,but it's not so much so that
it's like, oh, this time it'smore of like an upscale, like
higher-end version of a falldrink, right?
It's not witches brew or likesomething super themed.
Yeah.
Rich (03:31):
Um Harry Potter's Christmas beer butter or
anything like that orbutterbeer.
Butterbeer, yeah, that's whatit's called.
Zac (03:36):
So this is the modern English.
It comes from MichaelWaterhouse, a longtime New York
City bartender and barconsultant.
Um, so this is a gin sour,similar to a gimlet, but
flavored with pear.
But what makes it gimlet, mybad.
It's okay.
I feel like I always I'm herefor you.
I'm here for you.
Thank you.
All right, so a gimlet, butwhat makes it different than a
(03:58):
normal gimlet, which is usuallyfresh squeezed lemon juice,
simple syrup, and some kind ofwell, it would be some kind of
pear syrup or pear liqueur forwhich flavor of pear this is.
But um instead, this uses lemonwedges, maple syrup, and a pear
slice all muddled muddledtogether in what's called
bulldog gin.
Oh, I have bulldog gin.
Rich (04:18):
Um, it's a good one.
It's um it is really good.
Um, I had my I'm finishing mycoffee and like it's got caramel
and I'm a little sticky.
Um, but yeah, so this one I waslike, I was like, what the hell
is this?
So first of all, I think yousay gimlet because you get you
came right off gin and thengimlet, so you're used to that
soft g.
Um, but yeah, that's okay.
No worries.
Um I was like, I don't knowwhat this is, and then I looked
(04:41):
at it and I'm like, oh, I wantthis like right now.
Like, this is a breakfast drinkto me.
Um, so you get a quarter of afresh pear, so that's like
probably a couple slices,peeled, seeded, and cubed.
Um, because you don't need thepeels in there, the peels don't
muddle.
Two lemon wedges, and those canhave the rind on them, it's
fine.
Uh, half ounce of maple syrup,two and a half ounces of bulldog
(05:02):
gin, or your favorite gin, butI would definitely try to get a
genuine English gin for thisone.
Um, and then you can garnish itwith a cinnamon stick if you
want to.
I mean, cinnamon and pear andlemon and maple syrup, like oof.
I know.
Um, so in a shaker, you throwin the fresh pear lemon wedges
and the maple syrup and youmuddle that.
Uh, so hopefully you have amuddler.
(05:23):
Um, if not, you can use, youknow, like a spoon or almost
anything that'll just get inthere.
Um, you add the gin, fill itwith ice, and shake it until
it's well chilled.
Now you got a lot of stuff inthere with the pulp from the
lemon and uh fruit and the rindand all that.
So you're gonna double strainit into a coupe glass.
So you're gonna basically whatI do with these is I strain it
(05:44):
into like a measuring cup orsomething.
And from the measuring cup, Istrain it into my coupe glass so
that you get that double straingoing.
Uh, and then garnish it with acinnamon stick and then wow,
refreshing.
Zac (05:56):
It also I love it.
Rich (05:58):
It seems like aside from you need fresh pears, um, which
you can get year-round becausethey grow them in other
countries and whatnot, but umthis would be a good summer
drink.
I could see this just like a asa porch sipper, I think is what
we call them, right?
Zac (06:11):
Mm-hmm.
I it could be honestly, itcould be good any time of year.
The reason that I like it as afall cocktail is because of the
maple syrup and cinnamon.
I feel like those are kind ofwarmer flavors.
I also like that they uh cubedthe pear.
I think that's reallyinteresting.
I think that'll like I reallywant to try this one.
Rich (06:31):
Yeah, you know what I want to do now too is um like I made
mango margaritas um a whileback.
You know, we got some frozen,fresh frozen mango from Costco.
Uh I want to do a pearmargarita, like with actual like
fresh pear.
I think that would probably begood.
Pear and tequila?
Sounds interesting.
All right, well, maybe anothertime.
If I if I invent that drink,I'll let you know.
I'll look it up and see ifsomebody else has first, though.
(06:52):
Well, who knows?
All right.
So uh I think we can take aquick break and come back and
talk about uh invisibledifferentiators and get a little
more detailed into that for B2Emarketers.
All right, we are back to talkabout invisible differentiators.
(07:16):
So um I think that like, youknow, that thing you can't feel
with companies, with brands,with business partners is always
interesting.
Um, I mean, people can stay inrelationships, right?
Too like, you know, when youand Chloe got together, there
was probably like there was thetangible stuff where, you know,
how she talks, how she treatsyou, how she looks, all of that.
(07:37):
But there was probablysomething as well that was just
like, I don't know, I just feelgood when I'm with her.
Like, true, yeah, that kind ofthing.
So as humans, we're wired forthat.
And so as marketers in B2Bbusinesses, you can tap into
that.
So um, why is it important,Zach?
Like, why do we care aboutthese invisible differentiators?
Zac (07:56):
Well, 83% of B2B buyers say who buyers who trust a brand
say they're more likely tocontinue doing business with
them, even when competitorsoffer similar products or
services.
So I think that's some that'simportant, right?
Like that trust that invisibleinvisible differentiators
create.
Rich (08:15):
Right.
Yeah, when you've got acommodity, like when what you're
doing becomes a commodity,what's different about you?
You know, and yeah, you canchange your product, you can
change your pricing and allthat.
Competing on pricing is notsustainable ever.
Uh Walmart learned that thehard way and has tried to kind
of bounce back from it.
But yeah, it's like, what isthat thing that keeps me with
(08:36):
you if somebody else is offeringthe exact same thing you do?
Zac (08:42):
Exactly.
Uh I I have another stat that Iwant to share.
Rich (08:46):
I mean, I think this is a good one.
It's why it's important, right?
Like, because what do we careabout?
Revenue.
We care about the bottom line.
So go ahead.
Zac (08:52):
Maintaining consistent branding and messaging can boost
revenue by as much as 33%.
Reinforcing how clarity andcohesion quietly build
credibility over time.
Rich (09:03):
Yeah.
So it'll like one, people careabout it.
And even in a B2B space, I careabout who I'm working with and
I care about those things beyondwhat I'm getting.
And that's why we pay more forstuff, right?
Which is with the boostingrevenue by 33%.
If you've got thatdifferentiator, you're going to
be able to charge more andpeople won't mind because
(09:24):
there's this other thing keepingthem with you.
It's not about price.
Now, you can't just jack pricesthrough the roof.
Like that's not gonna work.
But you can charge a little bitmore and you know, apparently
about a third more, um,according to statistics.
Um, so let's talk about someinvisible differentiators.
Like we know they'reintangible, features, pricing,
(09:45):
visuals, those are alltangibles.
Got it, your color, all ofthose things.
Um, but what are um, I don'tknow, what are some in invisible
things that you found as youwere going through prep for
this?
Zac (09:55):
I think for me, reliability is a huge one.
If a company always delivers ontheir promises or communicates
like really proactively, I thinkI subconsciously trust them
more, right?
Even if someone else offers acheaper deal, if that trust is
being built where I can see thatthey're reliably uh say doing
what they say, that's a big onefor me.
(10:17):
Like it's one thing to promisea lot of things, right?
But actually delivering on thatpromise is another.
Yep, 100%.
I think that's what makes it aninvisible differentiator,
right?
It's hard to prove thatsometimes to somebody that
hasn't worked with you before.
And I know we'll cover like howyou can kind of showcase these
invisible differentiators later,but yeah, that's it's a big one
(10:41):
for me.
Rich (10:42):
Yeah, I think that's a good one.
Um, like like the experience,right?
I I always kind of go back tothat experience is your brand.
It's not necessarily just yourcolor colors and logo and all
that stuff.
But that experience, kind ofwe're drilling into that on what
is that that gives people whatthey want.
I think there's also a pieceabout with B2B, we always talk
(11:06):
about like, do we want to go todinner or lunch with these
people?
Do we want to have drinks withthese people, independent of
working with them?
So if you're working with anagency and they came to your
town, because most of us areremote now anyway, like people
are working with agencies allover the country.
Um would you want to, would yoube excited to go to dinner with
(11:26):
them?
Or if your boss is like, hey,we're gonna go to dinner with
the agency, would you be like,oh, okay, those guys, yeah,
that's great.
That's a big one in ourbusiness.
And I think it's a big one inin sales, in B2B sales.
I've got a friend who does, Ihonestly don't know what he
does.
It's some sort of IT thing forvery large companies.
And we were talking about howum, you know, they'll blow money
(11:48):
on golf.
And he's like, it's not aboutthe money for the golf or doing
this, it's giving them thisexperience at a unique golf
course that's really expensive,but it's also spending that day
with them and being human andlaughing and having jokes and
having inside jokes and gettingthem to like me as their rep so
that when we get to the contractnegotiations, it goes smoother
(12:09):
and things work better.
And I'm like, yeah, that's ahundred percent right.
Zac (12:12):
And you can't really measure things like that, right?
You can't measure vibes orempathy, but you can definitely
feel them.
And that feeling, thatemotional signal that like kicks
in before the logic is exactlykind of what we're talking
about, and things that you needto consider.
Because if you're mainlyfocusing on we need to be the
cheapest, we need to be, we needto have, you know, the best
(12:35):
visuals, but you won't have anysubstance behind it, you're
really gonna suffer when itcomes to these invisible,
invisible differentiators thatare actually driving people
towards your business.
Rich (12:45):
So yeah, as I was looking this up, like um a couple things
came up, like operationalexcellence, like process came up
a lot as an invisibledifferentiator.
And even things like umlogistics were in there.
So logistics is intangible andtangible, but if you're really
good at logistics, yourcustomers won't know because
(13:07):
they won't have complaints.
You won't be out of stock, youwon't be late with delivering
things.
The thing that came up therewas uh Trader Joe's.
Um they have a lot of their ownunique products, they're
cheaper, but they also have thislike um oh, it's the the
treasure hunt sense ofdiscovery.
Yeah, although they don't havetheir own vibe.
(13:29):
We get into that in anotherepisode about some of the
internal vibes at Trader Joe's.
There's there's there's amythology and lore there that's
apparently pretty true.
Zac (13:36):
And I think like if you think about the cashiers too,
right?
Like that sense of discovery isreally cool where you're
finding these new products.
And my favorite is the frozensection.
I feel like they have the bestfrozen food.
You can get like frozen paella,and that's really good.
But yeah, it's wild.
Besides that, you think aboutthe cashiers, right?
Like they're always asking youabout your day.
(13:57):
I'm pretty sure they're trainedto like be like, oh, this is
awesome.
Like, have you ever had thisbefore?
Like, I use this and this,this, and that.
Rich (14:05):
And you get that at Costco.
My favorite though is when, andit happens at Costco a few
times, because Costco and TraderJoe is both right, like they
rotate stuff in, it's there andthen it's gone, which is where
that sense of discovery andadventure comes in.
Um, those are two of the storesthat I actually enjoy walking
every aisle in.
Most stores, like if I go toTarget, I honestly, if I go to
Target, I'm going to buy itonline and have them bring it to
(14:27):
my car.
I'm not even going to go intothe store because I don't want
to.
But um, Trader Dozen Costco,like, I'll always go in.
But when the cashier is like,oh wow, I hadn't seen that.
Have you had it yet?
Like, is it any good?
Like when you discover.
And part of me is like, okay,is it fake?
I've been taught to say that tomake me feel good.
(14:48):
Like, like I won the treasurehunt today and found something
new.
Um, but yeah, that affirmationis in there.
Zac (14:55):
But yeah, the reassurance where you get you find something
cool, and then they they say,Wow, this is a really good
thing.
Have you had it before?
I love it.
And then you're like, I made agood choice.
Rich (15:06):
Yeah.
Um, so the other thing is youflip it to B2B.
Obviously, Trader Joe's B2C,um, but B2B, um, there is, you
do have logistics, you do haveoperational excellence, and it's
like how you deliver whateveryou're delivering.
It could be like stuff out ofyour brain.
It doesn't have to be atangible thing.
Um, and improving that issomething we talk about a lot,
is just improving our processesand getting smoother and
(15:27):
quicker.
And the funny thing is, itmakes it feel better for your
employees too.
Like if things are smooth,you've got good processes,
everybody knows what they are.
It's better for your customerand they're gonna have that
feeling.
And moreover, if they do gosomewhere else that isn't like
that, that's where they're gonnafeel it harder.
Sometimes you don't notice thatinvisible differentiator.
(15:50):
Like you said, like you canfeel the vibe, but you don't
know what it is until you'regone.
And then, like, you're like,oh, that's what it is.
I never had to worry aboutthings coming to me on time
because they always were.
And now I'm how constantlyreaching out and being like,
hey, where is this?
What's going on with this?
Zac (16:06):
Um, and I think you can boil that down to consistency,
right?
Consistency across everythingyou do because people that uh
you work with see that, right?
Are you consistently deliveringthings on time?
Are the processes that you'resharing with me and hammering
down into me, hammering into myhead, like actually working?
(16:26):
Yeah, 100%.
Yeah, so I think that boilsdown to consistency.
That's a good one too.
What like who would you say islike a good B2B brand or that
you can think of that like a B2Bcompany that like does a good
job of having invisibledifferentiators?
I was kind of thinking ofHubSpot because they provide a
lot of like resources and thepeople that you work with can be
(16:50):
consistent, but it didn'treally like click that much for
me.
So I was curious if you had anyoff the top of your head.
Rich (16:55):
Yeah, I mean, I mean HubSpot's an interesting one.
I think they're sort of hit andmiss on their invisible
differentiators.
Um, they are trying to innovatefaster, so they're they are
trying to make the physicalproduct different and better and
faster.
Um but yeah, and I do thinkthat the way their people relate
to you is a really interestingone.
So that that company culturefeels good.
(17:17):
You know, we like it when ourculture and a client's culture
like almost feel like you couldmerge them and they would just
overlap and be the same and benice because it's comfortable.
Um boy, B2B, B2B.
I'm trying to think of like whowe um who we shop with.
So I mean our bank actually.
So we use Dundee Bank in Omaha.
(17:38):
Shout out to the folks atDundee.
Um, small local bank.
Um, you know, some things aredifferent than you would get
from a giant corporate bank, butwhat isn't is I get the
responsive and they areproactively responsive.
So we have three accounts, andtwo of them are just for like
things coming in and going out.
So they go up and then they godown to almost zero, and they go
(17:59):
up and they go down to almostzero.
And sometimes we screw up anddon't transfer enough money to
cover like the giant Google billcoming out or you know, all of
the payroll, and it's in theoperating account.
It's just not in the payrollaccount.
Um, I had them like actuallycall me on a Friday afternoon to
say, hey, your payroll accountis like $6 negative, and they
(18:20):
have a like a 24-hour grace, Ithink it is, or something, like
before they'll do an overdraftfee.
So they're like, as long as youlike put money in there like
today, like just do a transfer,it'll like you'll be fine.
And it's like, so I hadn'tlooked at it.
I hadn't looked at the alert onmy phone because we all have
4,000 alerts on my phone.
But someone at the bank reachedout and was like, hey, I got
(18:41):
this alert and just wanted tolet you know, like, just
transfer like 10 bucks so thatit stays whole until your next
payroll.
Because he also knows, like,you know, our main account had
tons of money in it, totallyfine.
And he knows we use those othertwo to like run things through
and just keep them separate.
Um, so I think banking is aninteresting one where that um,
that service, that delivery,that proactiveness all become
(19:05):
good.
Zac (19:05):
That they had to like these Carmen, like Yeah.
Rich (19:09):
They've also just been easy to work with, like, right?
Like when I added Jessica tothe accounts, it was they're
like, well, she has to come inand sign some things, which I
get.
And so she was down here and wejust went in and they had all
the paperwork.
She signed it.
It took like five minutes andwe were out and we're done.
Um, when we did that with alarger corporate bank, it took
almost an hour to get it done.
Um it was so I think that's agood one.
Zac (19:31):
Yeah.
And I think honestly, thereason that we struggled to find
any companies that we couldthink of on the top of our head
is the whole point of thisepisode, right?
Things often get buried behindservices, pricing, like that
stuff.
So it's harder to differentiatefrom company to company.
And I think our next point,right, is why do some of these
(19:53):
individual and invisible uhdifferentiators get so buried or
lost?
And for me, I think I thinkit's like we've been saying,
right?
People are too focused on thesurface level things, great
service, customer-firstapproach, innovation.
Those are all easy to say, butit's all the same thing across
the entire industry.
Rich (20:14):
Yep, yeah.
And I think that that's whenyou um you start looking at
those things.
And I think so.
Like those are just likegeneric terms.
(20:42):
It's like, we're great.
Well, that's lovely.
That worked for Frosted Flakesfor a really long time, and um,
it doesn't work for you.
Um, I think a lot of companiesalso just don't know what their
intangibles are.
Um and and that can be a goodor a bad thing because you might
have them.
You might be delivering reallywell and you just don't know it,
(21:03):
but you should.
Um and you might just also nothave them.
Like you might just be this,you might be truly be this
boring B2B company that justdoes what everybody else does,
and you're fortunate to have thecustomer base you do, and
you're a look-alike, and peoplecan you that's a business model,
right?
Zac (21:21):
If that's you though, too.
I think it's important to askyourself if you stripped away
the logo, the price, and likeall those surface-level things,
what would make someone stillchoose your brand?
And chances are you canprobably come up with something.
Hopefully, if you can't, thenit's probably start, it's
probably time to start thinkingabout your brand as a whole and
what actually differentiatesyou.
Rich (21:43):
Yeah, and you can you can figure that out.
I mean, one, you can ask yourcustomers.
And if you get something like,I don't know, like we just
really vibe with you, likethat's okay.
That means that there'ssomething there that's
invisible.
Now, vibing is not adifferentiator, but there's
something under that that you'vegot to kind of unpack and
(22:04):
figure out.
Um, you can talk to youremployees too.
Like those are great places tofigure that out.
Zac (22:10):
I mean, you you nail it, right?
Your clients are able to tellwhat differentiates you because
they chose you.
So why did you choose us?
Like, get that insight fromthem.
Like I totally agree.
Rich (22:20):
Even more important when clients leave.
Why did you leave?
You know, what happened?
Like, did you fail on one ofyour like hidden differentiators
or invisible differentiators?
Like, have you shifted yourcompany and you this thing that
everybody likes about you youdidn't think was important, but
it actually really is?
Um, you know, did you did youget rid of their favorite person
(22:41):
at the company?
You know, that could happentoo.
Zac (22:43):
Well, and like thinking about that too, like why would
someone leave or maybe why yourinvisible differentiators aren't
really showing themselves andthey're still really invisible?
I think it breaks down to againconsistency, consistency across
your teams.
Is everyone on the same pagewith what makes you different?
And when marketing is puttingout marketing materials and like
(23:05):
promotional stuff, like does itlike reflect those invisible
differentiators and your brandas a whole?
Are they talking with sales?
Are the people that are sellingyour product or service like
actually, you know, putting outlike is everyone on the same
page?
Which goes back to processes aswell, right?
Like if nobody's on the samepage across your business or
(23:26):
there's a misalignment betweenleadership and the actual team
themselves, on what makes youdifferent, that can create some
confusion and bring you back to,oh, you know, we we have the
best price.
We, you know.
Rich (23:40):
Yep.
And I think that so what'sinteresting is you get to things
like speed and price uh andquality, and those independently
aren't necessarily adifferentiator.
But sometimes when you put themtogether, they can be.
So if you've got some sort ofproprietary technology or a
methodology, or you've honed aprocess to a point where you can
(24:01):
compete on price, but you alsodeliver faster than anybody else
competing on price, um, you'rein a really good spot.
Um, it's the old withmarketing, you know, fast, good,
cheap, pick two because youcan't have all three.
Well, if you can figure out howto do all three, that's gonna
be a hidden differentiator.
(24:22):
And people are gonna wonder,like, people, it's a thing that
people wonder, how do they doit?
How does this work?
Like, how do they get it to me?
And I don't have an issue withthe price, and it's super quick.
And I like what it is when Iget it.
Like those types of things umcan be really interesting.
Um, I think with AI, so I wason a webinar yesterday um with
(24:45):
another HubSpot partner.
They've created their own AIagents that do specific things,
like very detailed nichespecific things, but they're
things that almost everyoneusing a CRM would want to do.
And so, and the way that theydo it and the and the way you
can program it is super easy.
And so they're offering likefree trials and stuff, but
(25:05):
they're packaging them at like$100 a month, $150 a month to
have this AI agent in yourHubSpot portal.
Technology, right?
They created a combination ofthings with AI with an agent
that will go do this kind oflower level research stuff and
pull insights that would beharder for you to get or longer
(25:26):
for you to get.
That's a differentiator.
And then the price, I was like,I don't know if that price is
too much or too little.
Like, because it's just anagent, right?
Like it's not like a fullHubSpot suite.
But um, yeah, and they wereoffering, like, you know, you
can try it for 30 days and thenwe'll shut it off unless you
pay.
And it's like, okay, likethat's also a big one.
Try before you buy can be adifferentiator as well.
Zac (25:49):
True.
Yeah.
So how do you how do you makethese invisible differentiators
like actually visible?
Like, that's kind of like thenext point I definitely want to
cover.
Um, I think I think one way todo it, right?
And the it's probably the mostobvious, is to show the proof.
Create case studies, pulltestimonials, whatever you think
(26:13):
your invisible differentiatoris, or whatever your customers
are saying it is, you need tolike put that out there.
And getting it straight fromthe source is the easiest way.
Rich (26:23):
Yeah, and I think that if you're um you know, we we look
at certain things, and in someindustries price matters.
And even if you're notcompeting on price, you've got
to kind of list it.
But I think um if you're not asconcerned about price or you're
one of the more expensive inthe market, you can really push
those other pieces in yourtestimonials or in your case
studies or whatever, and notshow like it's basically here
(26:45):
was the problem, here's how wesolved it, and here's a little
hint at our secret sauce on howwe did it.
So you see things like, youknow, through our proven
proprietary process, we wereable to blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah.
Um so I I think that show,don't tell, but you also can't
(27:09):
show too much because um youwould you might risk somebody
else stealing it.
But ideally, if this is trulyunique to you, nobody can steal
it.
Zac (27:19):
Well, and it's it could be something as simple as right,
like some case studies arebetter than others.
It's the way you tell thestory.
And I think if you tell the stlike if you, for example, or say
we're really consistent likewith our clients, and we're able
to handle like I I don't evenknow, like we're able to handle
like difficult situations, likewhatever comes up.
(27:40):
You could like have that clienttell that story for you through
a case study or testimonial.
Rich (27:45):
So we got known as two things when we first started
working with HubSpot just byaccident.
One, we're the people who canum make you feel comfortable and
good again after you have a badexperience with another HubSpot
partner.
So we actually had HubSpot repscoming to us and being like,
hey, we've got a client who'sgonna churn, their partner
(28:07):
sucks, they're really upsetabout it.
We really need to save them.
And we've heard like you'vedone this a couple of times, and
you're pretty good at helpingpeople like step into maximizing
this and that you're nicepeople.
And it's like, okay, great.
Well, we'll do that.
Um, and so we've had several ofthose where we've just like,
we've actually stabilized therelationship they had with
HubSpot to keep them on thesoftware.
(28:30):
And that also then ingratiatesus to HubSpot, right?
That's one of our invisibledifferentiators for HubSpot, is
oh, they're really good athelping us keep and save
clients.
Um, our retention is alsohigher than most diamond
partners.
Um, and that's our businessmodel, right?
Like we hold on, we wanted thatdeep relationship, which is
probably one of our invisibledifferentiators.
Like we are more about therelationship than the short-term
(28:52):
profit, and we want you to bewith us 10, 15 years.
Um, the other thing we gotknown for is uh cleaning up
messes.
So my CRM's a mess, help meclean it up.
And it's it's not something wenecessarily love to do, um, but
it's it's good money and we knowhow to do it.
Um, and we've got like, and sothat got us to develop like
(29:13):
methodologies for okay, how dowe clean up faster?
Um and we have differentpricing.
If you have data hub, there'stools we can use to clean it up
much faster.
If you don't have data hub,we're going to charge you more
because it is more manual for usto do it.
Zac (29:25):
We're good at solving headaches.
Rich (29:27):
Yeah.
I think, you know, one of thethings that we have, I think,
um, and I've been thinking abouthow do we replicate this in
other areas, and we've actuallyhad clients ask us do you have
this for XYZ?
Our web process, right?
Websites are difficult, theytake forever, they never launch
on time, the client doesn'tenjoy them, the agency doesn't
(29:49):
enjoy them.
It's a big pain in the butt,but you get this really neat
thing at the end.
Well, Caitlin and Jesse satdown and they were like, How do
we fix this?
Because they're alsoprofitable.
So, how do we fix this?
And came up with an eight-stepprocess that is rigorous, that
we do and we educate clients on,we set the expectation and tell
them up front what theirresponsibility is and what ours
(30:12):
is.
And we go through it.
And the first website we didwith that ended on time, on
budget.
And everybody was like, thatwas actually a good experience.
We enjoyed doing that.
And it's only gotten betterwith, you know, since we started
doing only HubSpot websites.
Like we don't do WordPress oranything anymore.
So we know the technology.
Uh, we also have um specificpartners that we work with on
(30:34):
the technology side, buildingwebsites.
So all of that is kind of thisprocess where I think we can
say, and people will be like, Idon't believe you.
Like, oh, I can do good, fast,cheap.
Like people be like, yeah, youcan't.
When we say we can get yourwebsite done on time, on budget,
and you can enjoy the process.
Like as a former like marketerclient side, I'd be like,
(30:57):
bullshit.
Like you, that is just no.
But when we and when we promisethat and when we talk about it,
it's surprising.
And at the end, when we get ourC sets back, we deliver it.
So, and we had somebody elsewho asked her, like, do you have
that thing, like that processdocument for like how you
approach Google Ads?
And I'm like, no, because likewe, it's a whole different
(31:20):
thing.
Zac (31:20):
Can you replicate this so that we can have the same
experience that we feel the sameway we did when you were making
our website?
Rich (31:29):
And it was also about like uh getting approval from senior
leadership.
You know, they like seeing youhave this tangible thing that we
can measure.
Did you do each of thesethings?
Like, um, so there'saccountability there as well.
Accountability can be a secretsauce as well.
So yeah, it's interesting.
Zac (31:49):
Um right on the point.
Rich (31:52):
I know.
Before we close, I do want topoint out like if anybody has
been watching for a while,you've seen my Monstera back
here and it's been looking verysad.
I got a moss pole for it that'slike flexible, and I've wrapped
it around it because it wasjust like hanging over the edge
because it really wasn'tsupporting itself.
And it has no brown leaves,it's super happy, it's getting
more light.
So Caitlin is very pleased withme for how I've been taking
(32:15):
care of my Monstera, as isJessica.
Because they were both like,you need to do something with
that.
It looks really sad.
And I'm like, Yeah, it does.
Um, so and my bird of paradiseback here is still doing okay,
and there's a spider plantthat's just sort of hanging out.
But the Monstera.
It's a nice picture, it'slooking pretty good.
We should you should pull somestills like a before and after
from earlier episodes so we cantake a look.
Zac (32:37):
Sold that over.
I'll definitely put it in.
Rich (32:40):
All right.
Well, I think that was a goodone.
Um, and hopefully it helpseverybody to find their
invisible differentiators.
You can also create them.
Like they don't have to just beinherent that came up.
You can generate invisibledifferentiators.
It's hard or can be hard.
But, you know, look at yourculture, look at your
methodology, look at yourprocesses, look at your people,
(33:00):
like see what you're doingthat's different or what you
could be doing that's different.
Zac (33:06):
And I think the best part about invisible differentiators
is that they can't be copied, orthey normally can't be copied.
It's something that's unique toyou.
Anyone can match your productor price, but no one can
replicate how you make yourcustomers feel.
So Yep.
Rich (33:20):
And like even our eight-step web process, like,
yeah, you could go through thosesame steps, but we've got a
whole lot behind that ininfrastructure and partnerships
and processes and how we dothings that you'd have to figure
out because they're notinherent in the document.
Zac (33:34):
So and we talk about it a little bit in our webinar that
we did recently.
Yeah, we do.
We do probably put that in theshow notes to check it out.
Rich (33:40):
Yeah, definitely.
Zac (33:42):
All right.
It's an episode.
That is an episode.
As always, you can find ouragency at antidote71.com and all
of our socials there as well.
If you have a question you'dlike to send our way, head to
ctapodcast.live to shoot us anemail.
Or even better, leave us avoice message.
Uh, we know some of you arescared to call in.
(34:02):
Please do.
Our hotline is at 402-718-9971.
Your question will make it intoa future episode of the
podcast, and it will probably beits own episode at this point.
Rich (34:13):
So All right, Zach would love it because then he doesn't
have to plan an episode.
He gets like the topic handedto him in a question, and we
just go from there.
And we'll thoroughly answeryour question.
So all right.
Well, uh, we'll have anotherepisode next week.
Not sure what it is.
We're kind of getting throughthe holidays.
We'll have a little holidaybreak as well coming up.
But um, yeah, see you nextweek.
And it was good to see youagain, Zach.
(34:33):
Always a pleasure.
Zac (34:34):
Great seeing you.
See you next week.
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