--- title: What is a Differentiator and how do they impact Priorities and Swimlanes? description: A differentiator is a unique strength, advantage, or capability that sets your company apart from competitors. It's one of the reasons a customer would choose your business over another. --- [Skip to content](https://metronome.help/what-is-a-differentiator-and-how-do-they-impact-priorities-and-swimlanes#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [![metronome-icon (1)](https://metronome.help/hubfs/metronome-icon%20(1).svg)](https://metronomesoftware.com/) - Metronome Software Help Centre Open main navigation Close main navigation - Metronome Software Help Centre - English Show submenu for translations - [Send us a Support Ticket](https://share.hsforms.com/1jqjL2zbgRnKCmZLyPhVt5gny508) [Send us a Support Ticket](https://share.hsforms.com/1jqjL2zbgRnKCmZLyPhVt5gny508) What do you need help with? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Metronome Software Help Section](https://metronome.help/?hsLang=en) 2. [Priorities](https://metronome.help/priorities?hsLang=en) 3. [Priorities FAQ](https://metronome.help/priorities?hsLang=en#priorities-faq) # What is a Differentiator and how do they impact Priorities and Swimlanes? ## A differentiator is a unique strength, advantage, or capability that sets your company apart from competitors. It's one of the reasons a customer would choose your business over another. --- The definition of strategy, according to Michael Porter, is the creation of a unique and valuable position involving a different set of activities. The real secret to any company executing its strategy is deciding upon what activities it should do and what activities it should not do. A company’s differentiators move it into a unique and valuable position or maintain the unique and valuable position it is already in. **Differentiators** play a vital role in strategic planning because they: - **Guide Annual Priorities** – By linking differentiators to Annual Priorities, you ensure that the initiatives your team focuses on are aligned with what truly sets your business apart. This keeps strategic efforts targeted and impactful. - **Define Swimlanes** – Each Differentiator acts as a Swimlane, organizing and tracking milestones that support your key strengths. This makes it easy to see which are the big moves that you need to make as a company to reach your 3 Year Highly Achievable goal. Think about what your company does better than others—this could be product quality, customer service, speed, innovation, or specialized expertise that consistently drives customer satisfaction and makes you uniquely effective. Keep them clear and actionable, so they can directly guide decisions and priorities. **Example:** If one of your Differentiators is **“best-in-class customer service,”** you might: - Link it to an Annual Priority such as *“Launch a 24/7 customer support line.”* - Use it as the Swimlane for Customer Experience milestones, such as implementing a customer feedback system with real-time reporting. 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