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Re:Why do you need something to differentiate your business ... by brudgers on Wednesday August 27, 2014 @09:18AM (#8231900)
Personally, of the companies you mentioned, Grubhub is the only one I recall having heard of.

Differentiation can be as simple as name recognition. A canonical example might be "Kleenex". AirBnB is a recent startup that I think captured some of this.

In a growing market with low barriers to entry or an established commodity market, name recognition is pretty much all there is. In a market with one dominate player, "we are not the dominate player" is can also be a meaningful differentiator.

The question is good if it is in reference to comprehensive execution - that is the context includes marketing and advertising in addition to product. It's a bit weaker if it is just about product. Product-market fit is why both Porsche and Kia successfully manufacture cars people will buy.

Re:Why do you need something to differentiate your business ... by srabeat on Wednesday August 27, 2014 @02:19PM (#8233750)
In a market with one dominate player, "we are not the dominate player" is can also be a meaningful differentiator. <-- How can this be in our advantage?
Re:Why do you need something to differentiate your business ... by hollerith on Wednesday August 27, 2014 @02:20PM (#8233761)
This is the first time in many years that I've corrected someone's spelling on the internet, but many writers are make this mistake recently, and it is extremely annoying to some of us: it should be "dominant", not "dominate".

"Dominate" is a verb.