Why Branding is the Real Juice Behind Business
Can you imagine living in a world where having a unique product was enough? What would business be like if being first to market basically meant you were the only to market and that if you could get a foot hold you would own that line of products?
Companies like Band-Aid, Kleenex, Google, Hi-Liter, Frisbee have a hell of a competitive advantage in their markets. Not only do they own the product associated with an entire line of products but their brand names are used even when customers purchase a similar item from their competitor. What a wonderful world to be in, right? Maybe…but unless you’re one of the true visionaries putting out something original it can be hard to make noise in a given space.
Enter your brand. You have a unique idea, service or product that you want to bring to the market. Odds are you head over to Google to see if it already exists. This leads you down a black hole of discouragement and frustrating GoDaddy and patent office searches.
Look, in the data driven world we live in today it’s hard to create a product that is truly “new.” All of the biggest e-commerce players have in-depth algorithms that monitor and track trending items. And if an item gets enough attention or sales, guess what? They create their own at 1/2 your cost and cut you out. How can you position yourself for long term sustainability in bringing a product or good to the marketplace? I’ve got 3 quick tips for you.
Go all in on a brand. Think about it this way, I can get fried chicken from just about anywhere. But there is only one Chick Fil A. Love them or hate them they have spent years building a brand around “our pleasure” and good ole fashioned conservative based values. They know who they are, they know their audience and they double and triple down on it every year.
Stand for something. If you’re just starting out you can do something the big brands struggle to do. Which is standing for something you’re passionate about and using your business to do so. We often think of Nike or Patagonia as brands that make a statement but even a smaller, emerging brand can take a stance on a social issue and give their audience an invitation to join in on the conversation. This strategy can have its downfalls however. If you just try to cling to the latest trending social outrage you’re just asking for trouble. Define what your brand is and what it stands for. The opportunities will come from there.
Create a customer experience that is uniquely yours. One of my favorite brands (Johnny Cupcakes) does all the little things right. It’s a t-shirt brand that pretends to be a baked goods store. When you order a t-shirt from them online it comes in a little “to go” box like you had just walked out of the bakery with a dozen cupcakes. It’s the small things that make your brand uniquely yours. It’s that kind of thinking that make consumers smile and see you as more than a product, but as a brand.
If you’re going to get into the consumer packaged goods or the physical product game just remember, there are likely bigger and more funded companies than you who have thought of this. How are you going to stand out? What is going to make your exceptional? And what are you going to do that the bigger brands are too afraid to?
Cheers!
