“A product is something made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by the customer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique,” said Stephen King, a very wise brand man.
An innovative product will always create buzz. It’ll even get you your first 1,000 customers. But products don’t create long-term loyalty or advocacy. Brands on the other hand speak to a deeper part of our brain, the part that overrides all logic and justifies even the irrational.
Just look at the queue outside an Apple store before the next product launch. They’re not waiting in the freezing cold for a new phone. They’re buying into a promise, a feeling, a set of values that aligns with their own. Do they know that? No. But that’s the wonder of brand.
What about Motorola? Remember Motorola? If you’re vintage (like me) you probably owned one. Either that or a Nokia. These brands used to dominate the mobile phone market.
For my young readers thinking, ‘Motor… what?’, brace yourselves – Motorola only produced the first ever hand-held mobile phone! It was disruptive, category-leading, a force to be reckoned with. Let’s pause for a moment and think about what a massive achievement that was for Motorola, given the lasting significance of the category it forged.
40 years on, where did it all go wrong?
Motorola dominated the market for most of the 1990s, leveraging its positioning as the innovative category leader. It wasn’t hard to be the market leader when there was little competition, but in Motorola’s case, as the mobile phone industry matured, it didn’t evolve fast enough. It continued to act as if it was the only player in the market. It tried to be everything to everyone – which meant at the end it appealed to no-one. People eventually turned to more innovative brands like Nokia and Blackberry, then brands like Apple and Google which had invested – and continue to invest – in dynamic, powerful brand platforms that resonate. These brands stand for something bigger than their products.
Brand building is more than a tagline and expensive ads.
Many associate ‘brand building’ with expensive ads and taglines. When we look at the strength of a brand, it’s important to look at it as a package. Everything speaks. A strong brand tells a clear, compelling story of why people should buy their products and services (unique value proposition), what it stands for and why it exists (brand positioning and purpose), and relentlessly finds ways to deliver on these in a meaningful and impactful way.
A great example is Everlane, a US clothing brand with a mission to tackle fast fashion by being ‘radically transparent’. Besides ensuring its products are ethically-made and designed to last, it shows the profit made on each item, and individual costs incurred including shipping, labour and materials.
Another equally-awesome example is Airbnb, with its mission of making people feel like they can ‘belong anywhere’ in the world. As a devoted customer, I do feel I ‘belong anywhere’ when I travel with Airbnb, because everything about the brand experience delivers on this mission.
Airbnb: feel like a local in New Orleans – stay in a historical home with Brad and Bret.
Of course, there are brands which rely solely on well-crafted storytelling and marketing to position their brands. Coke is a classic example. The products are very similar to its competitors, but Coke dominates the world’s carbonated drink market regardless. It invests a lot in marketing and creates mental associations with fun, experience and celebration, delivering on its brand positioning of ‘happiness in a bottle’.
I need to invest in my product before my brand
You might recognise the importance of brand but don’t have the money to invest in it. Fear not. Brand building can and should start even on a shoestring budget.
The fundamental building blocks include the reasons your brand exists, why it matters to your customers and what you do that’s better/different to your competitors.
As a starting point, try to:
· marry what your brand is good at with what customers care about
· find opportunities to capitalise on industry and culture trends
· come up with a brand position that is unique in your market, and
· keep repeating and delivering on what you stand for so that it is imprinted in the hearts and minds of your target audience.
If you’re new in this space and would like to see a more detailed step-by-step guide to building brand differentiation and positioning, drop me a note in the comment section.
And remember we’re always in the business of selling to people – appealing to the heart will elevate your brand beyond products to something more powerful.
A strong brand needs to be single-minded, appeal to the heart, and backed by its products, services and anything else your customers touch, taste, see, hear and feel. And most importantly, don’t wait to start building your brand. Start with what you have, even if your budget is zero.
The truth of your brand is waiting to be uncovered and told.