being different is more important than being better
how to not just get people to buy, but "buy into" what you offer
brands are only as strong as the conversations they create from the experiences someone has with you.
it’s all about staying on top of people’s minds and being the first one they think of in a certain niche. it’s about your originality, creativity, and strategy that influences people’s gut feeling about you, which either creates an instant buying reflex or get you completely looked over.
brand makes it so there is no substitute
brand doesn’t always need to be better, but it needs to be different.
standing out from the crowd is more important than being better because your only competition is noise. and your job is to be the positive signal within all that noise.
people receive too many messages every day competing for their attention, but when their minds are getting too much thrown at it, they jus block most of it out subconsciously.
advertising is what you tell them, but brand is what they say about you.
extra capital and constant ads aren’t what make brands thrive. it’s the ability to get past the mental walls potential customers put up.
people hate to be sold to, but they love to buy
brands have been told to push their unique selling proposition (USP) and to make sure that there are clear benefits shown to hold yourself higher than your competition.
USP is about pushing your products onto people. but people don’t like to be sold to. notice how you react when an ad comes up on your social feed… most people just quickly scroll past it. it’s because they’re pushing products onto you and almost force-feeding you to look at it.
brand is so important right now because consumers have so many choices that it may be the only differentiator for repeat purchases. it’s the brand they trust and “buy into” that wins them over.
a better approach is to pull people in and get them excited about what you offer. people don’t buy products, they buy transformations.
from bored to enthusiastic
from indecisive to 100% certain
from hopeless to hopeful
from unskilled to competent
from prejudiced to open-minded
from broke to wealthy
from manual to automated
from normal to high status
top brands give intangible benefits that come with their products, like hope for a better future.
so don’t push products, pull people in with lifestyle upgrades, status symbols, peace of mind, and better versions of themselves.
brand is built by community and competitors
if you want brand loyalty, show your purpose beyond profit.
when you’re an up and coming brand taking on goliaths, challenge the traditional ways and define what's next.
have your goals align with your community’s, because that’s when the old model of constant ads and having celebrities use your products to influence their impressional fans go out the window and you can get free, or rather earned marketing from your supporters.
think outside the box and read between the lines because the white space in each category is open for opportunity. traditional advertising usually oversells and under delivers, so people learn to stop trusting it.
competitors can help you figure out who you want to be, or exactly what you don’t want to be. ask yourself “what’s something you can say your brand does that your closest competitor can’t?”
it’s not always about being better, it’s about standing out.
when everyone zigs, you zag so you won’t be boring.