As Richard Goizueta (the former  Chairman of Coca Cola) famously stated:

“There are only 3 steadfast rules for branding, differentiate, differentiate, differentiate”

This doesn’t mean being weird though. As my father not so famously stated:

“Just because nobody understands you, it doesn’t make you an artist”

Roughly translated from Australian to English, he was making the point that you shouldn’t be creative for creative’s sake. Confused? So was I (although I was a 5 year old who had attempted to draw the family home with crayons). 

Being different doesn’t mean fundamental shifts in your revenue model, or offering free pony rides with every insurance policy sold. It is about doing things right, but in your own way. Don’t throw out your website for an iphone app, don’t stop taking restaurant bookings over the phone, don’t stop doing what you’re doing.
Augment, don’t replace.

Differentiation is most tangible at touchpoints. These are when someone comes into contact with your brand, via your product, a brochure, an ad, a billboard or even a business card. Your logo and use of colour (more info here) should be instantly recognisable and not a vague reflection of a market leader. Be bold, but stay true to your brand.

You should also aim to do better. I know I say this all the time, but bears repeating. I talk to countless people who set up shop and want to “be just like such and such”. Consumers and clients don’t want an alternative to their trusted supplier, they want something better.

The best thing any business in the UK can do is concentrate on improving standards of service.

It doesn’t cost a penny, it won’t be hard to out-do the competition, and people will talk about it. It involves a little more than a group email though. You should lead by example, hold structured training and make everyone in your organisation aware that it is a providing good service is a condition of employment. You probably think your service is perfect because the receptionist is so chirpy when you walk in at 8:30am and the sales staff seem to be friendly on the phone at 4:55pm on a Friday. Don’t kid yourself. Ask someone not involved with your company to be a ‘mystery shopper’. Going one better, ask the outsider to go to your staff with a problem or a complaint and see how it is resolved.

“One bad telesales call can undo thousands of pounds of advertising” Some BA marketing person.

So to summarise:
Stand out from the crowd
Be the best at what you do
Bad service is cheap to fix but expensive to ignore