# A difference that counts > Table stakes get you considered; a differentiator gets you chosen. Run every claim through four checks: it is relevant to the customer's choice, distinct from what alternatives already say, provable with something they can see, and deliverable to every customer. Then back it with honest proof. - Course: [Marketing Strategy: Who to Win and How](https://productovi.com/courses/marketing-strategy.md) - Module: Why should they choose us? - Lesson 14/32, ~24 min - Source: https://productovi.com/courses/marketing-strategy/a-difference-that-counts ## What the ads say **Alex Tutor:** Back at Klasna: the shelf for EU parents is chosen. Now, on that shelf, what makes a parent pick Klasna? **Uliana:** Our ads lead with two lines: "Qualified tutors" and "Learn from home". Both true. **Alex Tutor:** True, and every serious alternative says the same. Those are **table stakes**: without them you aren't considered, but leading with them gives nobody a reason to choose you. **Sofia:** So they stay on the page, just not in the headline? **Alex Tutor:** Exactly. Lower down, as reassurance. The headline goes to a **differentiator**: a difference that counts. > **Exercise:** For online tutoring, which of these are **table stakes** rather than reasons to choose one school over another? Select all that apply. ## What parents praise **Uliana:** We read the 120 parent reviews from the last twelve months and tagged the main thing each one praised. **Uliana:** The weekly progress note from the tutor: 46. A patient, kind tutor: 31. Flexible times: 22. Qualified tutors: 9. Learning from home: 6. Price: 6. **Sofia:** The two lines we advertise are 15 reviews between them. The note is the top one. **Alex Tutor:** That's the relevance check: it matters to parents, and they say so in their own words. But relevant isn't enough. A patient tutor matters too. > **Exercise:** Uliana tagged the main thing each of 120 parent reviews from the last twelve months praised: weekly progress note 46, patient tutor 31, flexible times 22, qualified tutors 9, learning from home 6, price 6. What share of the reviews praised the weekly progress note most? In %, to two decimals. **Alex Tutor:** And the two lines the ads lead with: how much of the praise do they get? > **Exercise:** Of the 120 parent reviews from the last twelve months, 9 praised qualified tutors most and 6 praised learning from home most. What share of the reviews praised one of the two lines Klasna's ads lead with? In %, to two decimals. ## Four checks **Alex Tutor:** Put every candidate through four checks. Relevant: does it change the parent's choice? Distinct: or do the alternatives already say it? Provable: is there something the parent can see? Deliverable: does every family get it, every week? Miss one and it's decoration. **Alex Tutor:** Before you test the candidates, match each check with the question it asks. > **Exercise:** Match each check for a differentiator with the question it asks. **Sofia:** A patient tutor: valued, but every rival says "caring teachers", and how would we prove it? **Uliana:** The note, then. In our scan of rivals' public pages, nobody promises a weekly written note from the tutor. The large online school sends automated monthly test scores. **Alex Tutor:** And it's provable: you can show a real note, anonymised, and real reviews that mention it. For EU parents it matters even more: they can't drop by the school. > **Exercise:** Which claim can pass all four checks for Klasna (relevant, distinct, provable, deliverable once every tutor sends the note)? ## Proof you can show **Uliana:** Can we write "95% of parents love our notes"? It sounds strong. **Alex Tutor:** Only if you measured it, and you didn't. A **proof point** is evidence the customer can check: a sample note, real reviews quoted accurately with permission, numbers from your own data with the period stated. **Sofia:** And the sample note has a real child in it. **Alex Tutor:** So remove the name and anything that identifies the family, and ask before you use it. Reviews must be real and not edited to change their meaning: misleading ones break consumer-protection rules as well as trust. > **Exercise:** Which are acceptable **proof points** for the weekly note? Select all that apply. **Alex Tutor:** One practical question about the sample note before it goes anywhere. > **Exercise:** Uliana wants to show a real weekly note from a tutor as proof on the landing page. What must happen first? ## Keeping the promise **Hanna:** If the note goes in the headline, who checks that every tutor sends it every week? Right now some do, some don't. **Alex Tutor:** Hanna's right, and that's the fourth check, deliverable. A differentiator belongs to the offer, not just the ad. Before it goes on the page, make the note a standard every tutor follows, with a simple check that it went out. **Sofia:** Otherwise the families who don't get one feel misled. **Uliana:** And they'd write the reviews about it. > **Exercise:** **True or false:** if only some tutors send the weekly note, Klasna can still lead its ads with it, because it is true for some families. **Uliana:** Fine. Rewrite our ad for EU parents. Keep "qualified tutors" somewhere, just not on top. **Sofia:** A headline, one line under it, and the proof? **Alex Tutor:** Yes, and only claims you can show today. The note becomes the headline once every tutor sends it. **Hanna:** And no numbers you can't source. I will ask. > **Exercise:** Klasna's ad for EU parents leads with "Qualified tutors" and "Learn from home". Parents praise the weekly note from the tutor most (46 of 120 reviews in the last 12 months), but only some tutors send it so far, so use only claims Klasna can show today. Rewrite the ad: a headline, one supporting line and the proof you would show. Keep the table stakes, but not in the headline. > **Key ideas** > > - Table stakes (qualified tutors, learning from home) get you considered; they stay on the page, but not in the headline. > - A differentiator passes four checks: relevant to the customer's choice, distinct from what alternatives say, provable, and deliverable to every customer. > - Look for it in customers' own words: 46 of 120 reviews praised the weekly note; the two ad lines got 15 between them. > - Proof points are checkable: an anonymised sample used with permission, verbatim reviews, counts from your own data with a period. No made-up percentages, no reviews written by the team. > - A differentiator is part of the offer: make it a standard everyone delivers before you advertise it. **Alex Tutor:** Next: put the shelf, the difference and the proof into one positioning statement, and build the messages under it. - Previous lesson: [Which shelf in the customer's head](https://productovi.com/courses/marketing-strategy/which-shelf-in-the-customers-head.md) - Next lesson: [The positioning statement and messages](https://productovi.com/courses/marketing-strategy/positioning-statement-and-messages.md) --- Productovi Learning. Free, no sign-up needed to read.