A Blinding Glimpse of
the Obvious (BGO):
A Small Brand Must Go Head-To-Head with Big Brands. Or Else. Think about it. Every day a local retail brand such as Quebrada Baking Co. has to work as just as hard as Starbucks™ or Dunkin’ Donuts™ to sell a cup of Joe or a croissant. And still make money.
While Quebrada™ product quality ultimately makes the sale, its Brand identity (what you see) and image (what you remember) first has to create the same comfort levels known brands enjoy to get customers in the door. And how they define the Brand will tell if come back for more. Or tell their friends.
You see, it’s customers who really define a Brand. As Branders, we focus, articulate + amplify its truth. Help people evaluate its place in their lives. And in the Brands they make part of their own lives + personal Brands.
Brand is a story of values, of features, of people. Of what makes a business or personaility unique. And it can promise anything it wants. As long as the promise can fulfilled completely before + after the sale. And there’s the rub.
A primary role of marketing today is to ensure everybody in a company stewards the Brand across all interactions + touch points.
The trick, if it can be called that, is the Brand story must ring true, aligned across all Brand touch points: products, people + systems. And media. As a customer + potential Brand adopter, the littlest thing about the way the product performs or the way you’re treated either makes you happy or puts you off. If the former, you consider them again. Only then.
Today people simply have too many choices, web to mobile + on-demand to rely on just one media channel or a singular sales + distribution modality to reach them. Or capture their self-interest.
Rather, it’s cumulative touch points - social media to CSRs to word-of-mouth + product interaction – that build their Brand knowledge base. Yea or nay. Tell them even just what seems less than true at any one + they’ll know it. And attach that value to the Brand. This can be expensive to overcome. Ask BP.
Brand is not just about marketing either.
Empower a CSR to be themselves, to take responsibility for the Brand promise they know is true + you have a Brand aligned to its story. And people become willing allow that story back into their lives + to engage it, because they know what to expect. And they believe what they know.
Zappo’s + Bose are great examples of aligned Brands.
Just call them + they’ll put you into the comfort zone needed to interact + transact. And how much did Amazon buy Zappo’s for?
Lightman's re-staged website earned them global customers + a 20% increase in sales.
It doesn’t matter what your business offers or really, even where it operates. Today there’s a big Brand gunning for that same customer as the small one. Whether the 8-person (or even 300 person) Boston financial services firm v. Goldman Sachs. A single location healthcare benefits advisors v. a global consultancy. The LED light OEM v. Sylvania. Or you v. whoever.
Powerful Equalizers. The good news: the Web + increasingly Mobile, have become great equalizers for Brands with real stories to tell. They’re powerful, accessible amplifiers.
And ThomasBoston works easily + comfortably within this sphere, helping clients understand the issues at hand in their language. Because it simply doesn’t have to overwhelming or confusing. It doesn’t need the same budgets the bigs have.
Nor does everything need to be done at once.
A small Brand simply can’t overpower a big Brand + its marketing spends, pricing or resources. Nor can it duplicate its success with ‘me too’ tactics.
But it can outsmart them with a solid Brand strategy featuring a story that uniquely positions your business, within a niche where you’re the primary choice. And by consistent Brand story tactics that broaden its appeal as momentum + recognition builds about its desirability.
Small is the new big. ThomasBoston’s Brand-To-People™ focus provides a plan, information framework + flow that helps a business owner see where they are going + ways to get to where they want to be. And how to beat bigger Brands in their own game, by paying attention to all the elements people require to pull the trigger on a purchase.
Armed with all information they need + an authentic connection, people can easily reach out + buy what they want + from whom. And we all want the same thing, whether it’s a pair of jeans or a left-handed widget. Satisfaction.
It’s rarely a matter of size. It’s always about how you present it. Make your customer feel special + they remember.
Make it extraordinary + they never forget.
It’s important people understand not just what you do or sell, but why you’re doing it. Because when the ‘why’ rings true, the story connects emotionally - wherever it’s encountered. And it’s easier to believe + act upon.
Do it right + Brand creates recognition + comfort levels that enable people to make purchase actions when the time is right. Momentum + saleable equity too.
Building a great small Brand is more than style, it’s a feeling of accomplishment. Of finding a sustainable niche to build a business over the short- + long-term. One providing a measurable return + significant revenue. A Brand worth buying.
And if you’ve the mettle, there’s no rule a small Brand needs to stay a small Brand. Let’s go.
What’s your gut telling you – can your Brand compete? Believe what you know. It’s what makes you great.
> Read About Brand-To-People™ Small Brand Successes
