It's fascinating how the digital world is full of everyone fighting for attention by trying to be as wild and eye-catching—sometimes even verging on borderline crazy.
Yet, when I look at small businesses, everyone is trying to fight for customers' attention. But unlike the digital world, all these businesses seem to be skewing toward the grayscale and trying not to stand out, YET aiming to be everyone’s best friend.
This makes your business normal, boring, and unmemorable.
In the book Zag, Marty Neumeier brilliantly said: “A brand isn’t about what you think you are—it’s about what your customers say you are.” Aka, how memorable is your company to your customers?
So gain more clarity on what your business can be to your customers.
Unlike Instagram, you don’t need to be loud, but you do need clarity.
Take a moment and distill your brand's essence into one crystal-clear sentence. And I mean crystal clear. If your grandma can understand your company and your brand in 10 seconds, you're on the right track.
Customers need to have an emotional attachment to the company, NOT YOU.
People buy from you because you make them feel trust, joy, and competence. But you have to make sure that these feelings are created at a company level. See where you can create these feelings for your customers without you being the source of them.
Stop trying to be something for everyone. You can't be everything to everyone. And that's beautiful.
Instead of trying to be a jack-of-all-trades, become the master of your unique thing. That special sauce that makes customers choose you over anyone else?
Find it. Celebrate it. Build your entire brand universe around it.
Branding isn’t about being the loudest. It’s about being the most real. The most connected.
Standing out in a crowded marketplace doesn’t require gimmicks or noise. It takes clarity, authenticity, and the courage to focus on what truly matters.
Remember, it's not what you do but how you do it! Style supersedes everything!
As always, I'm here to help you get ridiculously loyal customers so give me a shout! I love to hear from you!
