A few short years ago marketing used to be the one tactic that businesses couldn’t go without. Why? Because it worked. In today’s world, the industry is so saturated that it has become exceptionally tough for brands to break through the clutter.
So, what can you do to stand out from the crowd? A better place to start is what not to do and that is: Don’t sell the product. The neuroscience behind brand affinity reveals that people don’t connect with products or services. They connect with a why. What is your brand purpose? What are your values? What do you stand for?
Value first, product second
Marketing has now become all about selling the value and the human element to what you do for your clients. There must be a golden thread of your business’s value offering tying into the foundation of why the client started their business in the first place, and the direction of where they want to take their business.
Sharing the brand values with your ideal audience is not only important; it is vital for success. Customers need to understand what pillars the business is built on.
When a brand has established its truth, it will create immediate resonance. The affinity is automatic, your people will find you and you will have clarity on just who your people are. It reminds me of a line in a popular song by Beyoncé: “You decide where you fit, I’m what I’m working with.”
Carving Niches
Asking yourself the critical questions is the best way to find brand clarity. What makes your brand unique? What do you want to be renowned for? Is it innovation? Ease-of-use? Perhaps it is price point. Or not. Wherever you arrive on this is then where you will pitch yourself.
A great example is a recent experiment conducted on a group of Apple and Android users that revealed Apple users take actual pride in the brand, which highlighted certain parts of their brains. Whereas Android users are indifferent about their chosen brand, except when compared to Apple – then only do their brains show a marked difference.
Apple doesn’t compete with the market. It competes with itself and therein lies its greatest influence. This is branding at its best.
Storytelling and Selling
The way in which you tell the brand story will be the bridge that creates a connection. It is important to do this as it offers an opportunity to personalise the brand and offer more to customers because of the connection you created. In today’s fast-paced world where almost everything is taken over by technology and new developments, it opens the road for humanity to become the reason an audience is enticed. No business can afford to be faceless, and so, connecting with an audience and resonating with them on deeper levels is how brand storytelling is not only born, but successful.