What is the magic of your brand?
There is something about our brands that can have a big impact on those we hope to serve. If we identify that special something, we can create an irresistibility that is priceless.
The biggest challenge we have is getting out of our own way. We all have a tendency to fall in love with our offering or be so absorbed in getting the word out that we forget that everyone else out there doesn’t have even a fraction of the interest we have. Little alone a compelling reason to care.
This is a hard perspective for us to step back and consider. I’ve worked with so many brands that believed they were different. Really different.
Really different is really rare
Early in my career, I worked on a brand that introduced one of the first high-quality, no-focus pairs of binoculars. It was the only one of its kind in the market at the time. It was an awe-inducer to simply say, “You never have to focus these binoculars.”
The magic of the technological innovation was a showstopper. It was a brand with real differentiation (until a few years later when competitors replicated it and even improved upon it).
Few brands have this kind of clear-cut differentiation. Their specialness is more nuanced.
The trouble with this is that it is hard to say something arresting about the brand when it doesn’t have that stop-you-in-your-tracks kind of feature or story.
So what are we supposed to do? Well, remember that something special that I mentioned at the beginning? Remember how I said it could make you irresistible?
It’s not about your brand
What’s going to make your brand special to those you hope to serve is the difference it makes in a life, a community, or even the world.
Sidebar: that also happens to be the definition of a purpose – or Big Audacious Meaning. Clarifying this can be an absolute game-changer for a brand.
When you concentrate on the difference your brand can make, you shift your focus from you to those you hope to serve. That instantly makes you more relevant to your prospect (not to mention more likable). Moreover, it helps you understand the real and meaningful impact your brand can have on their lives.
Find that. Then get out of the way. Stop talking about what you do and start talking about what you do for them. Get beyond the surface benefits. Dig deep into the difference you make in a life. Find that emotion and you will discover the magic. And the irresistibility.