Does Your Brand Differentiate You?
When we meet with middle-market executives, we frequently ask them all the same question: “What’s the one thing that makes your company different from your competition?”
Setting aside their product’s features, their processes, their approach, and the other details that consume their daily activities, we ask them to think about that one intangible element—that quality about their company that makes both them and their team believe in what they’re building. Then when we ask them to turn and look at their brand, we ask them if it reflects that intangible quality we just discussed.
More times than not, the answer we hear is “No, I guess it doesn’t.”
Too often, we have conversations with company owners who have built a successful business, but now find themselves competing with bigger companies but with a fraction of their resources. They know that what they bring to their customers is different than that of the ‘big guys,’ yet they can’t understand why they don’t get more credit for what it is they do.
When we dig into our clients’ businesses, we often find a brand that reflects a product or a service or some feature and benefit. But usually, that brand fails to convey that intangible quality. If that aforementioned element is so special that it causes them to buy into their company and keeps their employees inspired, then why wouldn’t that be the same for their customers?
People buy what they believe in. We know that to be true for ourselves as individuals. After all, we’re all consumers of something. But sometimes we forget when marketing our own companies that same principle holds true. How a customer chooses your company over your competitor is exactly the same way you choose one company over another. And often, what the brand conveys about that company is shaping that decision.
So think about it—what unique quality about your company might your customers find meaningful too?
If you’re interested in learning more about how differentiating your brand can better drive new business, contact us.