Stop Trying to Differentiate Your Agency

Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash

The pursuit of differentiation can feel never-ending.

We spend hours on it—noodling over ideas at the Sunday breakfast table or convening the team at an offsite to finally crack the code.

We wring our hands. We go ultra-specific and end up with a differentiator that doesn’t matter to the customer. Or we land back on the same old tired pitch. Because, after all, that tired pitch is true.

Your agency does develop creative ideas backed by data!

You genuinely do have a people-first approach!

But why are you trying to differentiate in the first place?

Let’s take a step back. The goal of differentiating your agency is to help someone unfamiliar with you quickly grasp who you are and how you fit within a universe they already understand.

There are two critical points in the buyer’s journey when this matters most:

1. At the beginning, when a prospect is shifting from unfamiliarity to awareness. At this point, a brief, clear, relevant message is crucial—they're not giving you a lot of time.
   

2. At the end, when you’ve made your case but haven’t closed the deal. They need a compelling reason to choose you—and they need to explain that reason to their CEO, their board, or their department head.

In both scenarios, the agency that delivers a specific, client-contextualized message is in a better position to win.

What if the point isn’t to be different—but to be distinctive?

The problem isn’t the goal. It’s the way we pursue it. We try to answer the question, “What makes us different?” as if it has one clean, definitive answer.

The truth? Very little truly separates most agencies on paper.

Of course, being able to name specific differentiators is helpful. But if that pursuit leads you into a never-ending loop—or if your differentiators aren’t relevant to the client—it’s not helping.

And yet, your agency is unique. No one else has your story.

So the better question becomes: How do you communicate that in a way that matters?

Here’s an analogy I like: we all use the same alphabet. What makes us unique is how we arrange the letters.

So—how have the qualities of your agency been arranged? What’s the story they tell?

Your story is your differentiator.

I think the power of story is tragically underutilized in agency new business. Maybe because our own stories feel too familiar—we take them for granted.

But your story is the clearest expression of what makes you distinct. Whether it’s dramatic or “slow and steady,” it’s shaped the way you work and deliver value.

If you haven’t reflected on it lately, here’s a quick exercise:

• Why were you called to do what you do?

• What challenges did you face and how did you respond?

• What did you learn from the outcomes—and how has it shaped your approach?

Maybe your story involves dramatic highs and lows. Maybe it’s quieter—marked by consistency and resilience. Either way, it’s valuable. Your future clients need to see how it has equipped you to solve their problems.

Then, widen the lens. What’s the story you share with your community—your team, your clients, your partners?

• What’s the shared purpose?

• What action is required to pursue that purpose?

That purpose doesn’t need to be lofty or world-changing. It might be as simple as “helping brands run better Facebook ads.” What matters is that it's specific and true.

Because your prospects have options. Lots of them. Give them a reason to choose you—based on the distinct value you bring, not because you’re cheaper or more eager to overdeliver.

This is just the first step.

You don’t need a perfect narrative right away. Think of this as a manifesto-in-the-making—raw material to shape a messaging strategy.

The goal isn’t to produce polished copy. It’s to generate clarity and direction. From there, you can build messaging that sharpens your creds deck, your case studies, and your team bios into something memorable—and meaningful.