Food for Thought: The Principle of Minimum Differentiation
The Principle of Minimum Differentiation explains why competitors often drift towards sameness. It’s a kind of safety-in-numbers bias — if your neighbour sells chips, it feels safer to sell chips too. That’s why petrol stations cluster on the same junction, or two ice cream vans park in the same lay-by.
You’ll know the sayings:
“Follow the crowd.”
“Keep up with the Joneses.”
Safe, perhaps — but sameness rarely inspires loyalty. As the old counter-sayings remind us:
“Variety is the spice of life.”
“Stand out from the crowd.”
Through the visitor’s eyes
Visitors are quick to notice when everything looks and feels the same. Spotting three cafés with near-identical menus doesn’t feel like choice — it feels like a lack of imagination. But when every café, shop, and pub offers something different, the day stretches out. Curiosity builds. Visitors stay longer, spend more, and leave with stories worth sharing.
Why Lynton & Lynmouth must resist sameness
Some neighbouring seaside resorts show what happens when sameness takes over: arcades, fish & chips, and souvenir shops stretching down the promenade. Familiarity makes them easy to recognise — but just as easy to forget.
Lynton & Lynmouth can chart a better course:
Two villages, one story. Lynton above, Lynmouth below — linked by the Cliff Railway, a feature no one else can copy.
Independent character. Cafés, pubs, and shops that add their own flair, not “me too” menus.
Exmoor at our doorstep. Wild moors, wooded valleys, and sea-sprayed cliffs — a natural variety that’s unrepeatable.
When every business leans into its strengths, we build Critical Mass the right way: with Plenty to do, Interesting variety, Everyone benefits (PIE).
The cost of sameness
Sameness may feel like the safe option, but in reality it risks:
Shorter visits
Lower spend
Fewer return trips
Weaker word-of-mouth
In the long run, that’s not safety — that’s slow decline.
Better, not Busier
The short game is copying your neighbour and hoping to catch the same wave. The long game is difference — distinctive, memorable, sustainable. To truly prosper, we must “stand out from the crowd.”
That’s the heart of our programme: Better, not Busier.
A question to take away
Ask yourself:
- What makes my business stand out?
- What story, flavour, or experience can I offer that no one else in town can?
