In forming any competitive strategy, it’s important to understand the difference between differentiators and table stakes. Through this article, we break down the differences and explain why differentiation is crucial to competitive strategy.

About Differentiation vs. Table Stakes

In any industry, there are table stakes, and there are differentiators. Table stakes are the minimum entry requirements to have a credible competitive position: a functioning product, for example. Differentiators are the unique sources of value that enable a product or service to stand out from competitors. Many organizations may only have one source of differentiation.

In competitive strategy, and particularly in trend monitoring and analysis, it is important to prioritize differentiators above table stakes. Differentiators form the basis of competitive advantage, and it’s the responsibility of strategy and analysis teams to protect them. While it is not possible to monitor everything, identifying the organization’s differentiators enables leaders to assign higher priority to trends that will have the greatest impact on your differentiators, and implement appropriate strategies in response.