A couple of months ago I was reading articles on public relations & advertising while sitting in a cafe and came to a couple of startling realizations.
Some of our favorite companies don’t have a competitive advantage outside their name. Meaning that the only reason that a majority of people shop with them is because of their popularity and name recognition.
Strip that away and they’re no better off than the rest of us businesses who are out there doing our best to make ends meet every month.
What makes a brand amazing is four things:
A great offer
A defined audience
A compelling message
A unique to them advantage
Think of them like the wheels of a car. If it has a flat tire and no spare around, the vehicle will work, but will eventually damage the car’s engine & if that goes on long enough the car stops working altogether.
It’s the same for a brand. If one of those pieces is missing, it’s going to be harder to move your business forward and grow it over the long term. Not impossible, but it’s harder. To keep the car analogy going think of it like walking versus driving.
And also, much like a car, a brand also needs regular maintenance. It’s not something where you only do it once and then forget about it. The landscape around your industry and even the world is going to constantly change and if you don’t keep adjusting your brand as these changes come along, you’ll eventually be obsolete.
By the way, If you’re stuck figuring any of this out, you can always ask me! This is one of the things I’m really good at helping people figure out and my one-on-one Jumpstart Branding and Design Consulting Calls are great for this type of work.