Rational Marketing

Andrea Syverson suggested some ideas in Target Marketing Magazine to get you started in your thinking about how to differentiate your brand.

We like to cheer for the underdogs, they try harder. These “underdogs” seem more comfortable in their own brand skins. They are original. They are daring. They are independent thinkers.

What about your brand? I bet your customers know the answer.

Stand Out from the Crowd

What are the differences between the many companies jockeying for customers’ minds and market share these days? Is there a difference between OfficeMax, Office Depot or Staples? What differentiates Barnes & Noble from Borders?

What is different between your offering and your top two competitors? If your brand is sandwiched blandly between others, it’s time to rethink both your brand positioning and your merchandising concept. Don’t bore your customers with this sea of sameness. They deserve better.

There is no formula for authenticity. Either you are authentic or you’re not. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to living in a faux society, where entertainment is disguised as news, celebrities are disguised as heroes and Internet connections are disguised as relationships. And, yes, there are faux brands and transaction-based companies focused on themselves and short-term profits.

In “Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want,” authors Joseph Pine and James Gilmore propose that authenticity is a completely new management discipline, and they outline three axioms for authenticity:

1. If you are authentic, then you don’t have to say you’re authentic.
2. If you say you’re authentic, then you’d better be authentic.
3. It’s easier to be authentic if you don’t say you’re authentic.

This may seem simple, but it isn’t. Many brands fall back to being faux. It’s easier.

Authenticity in Action

Consumers crave the real deal. They desire companies that deliver on their promises and brands that listen and do what their taglines say they do. They seek independent thinkers, product creativity and originality in solving their problems. They want brands that respect their time.

Authentic companies have one thing in common: They are true to themselves. They beat their own drums. And, most importantly, their customers thank them for it.

Steven Covey, best known as the author of “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” writes:

The more authentic you become, the more genuine in your expression, the more people can relate to your expression and the safer it makes them feel to express themselves. That expression in turn feeds back on the other person’s spirit, and genuine creative empathy takes place, producing new insights and learnings.

We believe the same is true of brands. Authentic brands are infectious. They draw people in. Authentic brands stand out. Authentic brands feed people’s spirits. They give customers what they crave today: realness.

So, how can we help you communicate your authentic brand message?