Today’s A/E buyers often evaluate dozens of firms in rapid succession. Their time is limited, attention is fragmented, and the
pressure to make a defensible choice is real.
But, despite real differences in expertise, project types, and culture, many architecture and engineering firms present themselves in nearly
identical ways. That’s not always easy to hear, and it may not match how you see your own firm, but it’s an important perspective to
consider.
When firms look interchangeable, the way clients choose changes. Selection stops hinging on value and collapses into commodity
decision-making. Firms are compared as interchangeable options, and choices default to familiarity, fee, or perceived safety. The lowest
number feels justifiable. The most recognizable name wins. Not because it’s the best fit, but because it’s the easiest choice in a sea of
sameness.
Differentiation reverses this dynamic by making the right choice obvious, not debatable.
When firms look interchangeable, selection stops hinging on value and
collapses into commodity decision-making.
The Root of the Issue: Why A/E Firms Blend Together
In my experience, most A/E firms believe they are differentiated. But, our work, we've found the market often disagrees.
The issue isn’t expertise, performance, or outcomes. It’s how firms choose to show up. Across the industry, a set of familiar patterns has
taken hold. Patterns that feel safe, proven, and professional, but ultimately make it difficult for prospective clients to tell firms apart.
And to be fair, these choices are rarely careless. They’re often made with the best intentions to stay within what feels acceptable in the
industry.
- Firm names are built on founders’ surnames or acronyms that offer no insight into value.
-
Brand colors are clustered around black, gray, red, and blue. These are classic and familiar, but
indistinguishable.
-
Messaging is filled with familiar tropes: human-centered design,
collaborative process, innovation,
and
trusted partner.
-
Collateral relies almost exclusively on project imagery and technical facts, without clear client-centric
value or narratives.
-
Firms frequently point to their design process as what makes them different, even though clients rarely see it
as unique or memorable.
Individually, none of these choices seem harmful. Collectively, they all but ensure that nothing about your brand communicates
difference.
Often, this sameness is reinforced by a desire to “play it safe.” Tradition, risk aversion, and industry
norms
push firms toward familiar territory. But you know as well as I do, safe rarely stands out. And standing out is exactly what
winning requires.
If
any of these patterns feel familiar, it may be time to look more closely at how your firm is showing up in the market. We
help A/E firms identify where differentiation is getting lost — and where it can be strengthened. Interested? Let’s start
with a 30-minute conversation to talk it through.
Learning from Outside the industry
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard A/E leaders say their work “speaks for itself.” And to a trained eye, that’s often true. The
problem is that most buyers are not trained to see nuance the way designers and engineers do. And that’s a hard lens to shift, which is why I
love using examples outside our industry to make the patterns easier to see.
To understand why differentiation so often fails in the A/E space, let’s look at how an out-of-category industry giant solved the same
problem.
The Sea of Sameness
Before Apple reshaped the market, companies like Dell, HP, and Lenovo offered products with different specifications and capabilities. But
to the average consumer, the experience of encountering those brands was nearly identical. Laptops looked the same and were marketed the
same. They felt interchangeable. Unless you were a hardware expert, it was hard to know which one to choose and why.
Breaking the Pattern Through Differentiation
Apple didn’t just rely on technical superiority. Instead, it translated complexity for the untrained into an experience that felt intuitive,
approachable, and aspirational. Differentiation was evident at every touchpoint, from a clean, minimal visual identity to distinctive
packaging and a radically different retail experience. At the heart of their products was the emotionally resonant message of Think
Different.
Apple leaned into strategic marketing and differentiation, making its brand obvious, accessible, and memorable. This clarity was evident to
both techies and those who didn’t understand the hardware under the hood.
The A/E Parallel
The same dynamic plays out in architecture and engineering.
To non-designers (city managers, boards, university committees, developers), most project images look similar at first glance. And to be
clear, I am not saying the work is the same. The rigor and expertise behind each project vary widely. But without
articulated differentiation, those differences are hard to see. When firms rely solely on glossy project images, portfolios blur
together, messaging feels generic, and proposals become indistinguishable.
What separates firms in the buyer’s mind isn’t just the work. It’s the signals surrounding it: a clear point of view expressed through
culture, a visual identity that creates instant recognition, messaging that frames outcomes clients care about, and teams who articulate
value with clarity and confidence.
These signals translate expertise for the untrained eye. Without them, even exceptional firms are reduced to technical comparisons. With
them, differentiation becomes visible—and selection becomes easier.
If this comparison hits a little close to home, it’s a sign your brand may not be translating your expertise. We can help you uncover where
your differentiation is getting lost — and how to sharpen it. Schedule a
consultation today to learn how we can help.
A Quick Reality Check: Is Your Firm Actually Differentiated?
Most A/E firms believe they are differentiated. Very few have tested whether the market agrees.
To help you understand if it’s time to invest in new messaging, visuals, or positioning (and where that investment would matter
most), it’s worth starting with a more basic question: Can a prospective client clearly articulate what makes your firm
different without your help?
Consider these questions:
- If your firm’s name were removed from your website, could it belong to a competitor?
- Could your messaging be swapped with another A/E firm’s without much effort?
-
Do clients describe you in specific terms, or with the same language they use for everyone else?
-
Can every team member explain, in plain language, why a client should choose your firm over a competitor?
-
When proposals are reviewed side by side, do you give evaluators an obvious reason to advocate for you?
If these questions are uncomfortable, that’s not a failure; it’s a signal. And it’s exactly where differentiation begins.
Differentiation isn’t about being louder or more creative for the sake of it. It’s about removing friction from the buyer’s decision and
making the right choice feel clear, confident, and supportable.
Sameness Is Safe—But Safe Doesn’t Win
If prospective clients can’t clearly tell you apart, choosing you becomes harder. And in a crowded, high-stakes market, hoping they’ll
“figure it out” is no longer a viable strategy.
Differentiation isn’t a marketing luxury. It’s the foundation of competitive advantage. When purpose, visuals, messaging, and people
reinforce a clear and consistent identity, firms stand out. More importantly, they perform better. They earn trust faster, attract
better-fit opportunities, and win more of the work they’re best suited to deliver.
Most firms don’t set out to blend in. It happens gradually, through a series of reasonable decisions made in a complex, risk-averse
environment. For many firms, the real question isn’t whether to invest in differentiation—it’s whether the market sees them
the same way they see themselves.
If you’re ready to stop blending in and start breaking through, we’d love to help. Schedule a consultation to explore how a differentiated
brand can transform your positioning, your proposals, and your win rates.
Authored by
Co-Founder & COO
If
any of these patterns feel familiar, it may be time to look more closely at how your firm is showing up in the market. We
help A/E firms identify where differentiation is getting lost — and where it can be strengthened. Interested? Let’s start
with a 
