How to Wisely Choose Every Brand Move, The Right Way

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Have you ever wondered how to wisely choose every brand move before you made it?

I did too.

Then I got a call from a podcaster who was recommended to me by my buddy Ted Rubin.

Dr. Jürgen Strauss is a transformational marketing strategist, podcaster, speaker, chief innovator, and founder of Innovabiz who partners with innovative, exceptional business coaches and consultants.

Choose Every Brand Move, The Right Way

During this podcast, we dove deep into branding. Here are some of the points we took up:

Your logo, typography, colors, and imagery result from having a brand.
You got to have a brand story.
Branding is the art of differentiation.
Brands exist because people exist.
There are thousands of options and places to buy from. You need to be able to tell one from the other. If you can’t tell one from the other, branding isn’t happening no matter how pretty things might appear.
A brand is something that is deeper. You need to go deeper to understand your brand. Start from the core going out because it’s not just the outer skin that defines what a brand is.
Great brands expose their souls and connect with people.
Moving from the brand you have to the brand you need is a transformation that needs to happen. If you do it well and you have a solid foundation, you’ll be able to navigate that pivot very organically.
A brand needs to be built on value. It needs to be deeper. It needs to start at the right place.
Stop talking like your industry. Talk to people in the way they talk.
Stories connect us to things. Stories are the oxygen for brands. They take people on a journey. They paint a picture for them. They take them to a place where they can envision and immerse themselves in the human experience.
A great story brings transformation.
Features don’t engage people. A story brings the human component.
In order to be able to establish a differentiation point, you need to know where your stuff will be heard and seen.
Every conversation starts with people not knowing anything about you. They know nothing about how you are different than other people. If you start talking like everyone else, you’ll never reach a point where they’ll find you interesting. You’ll never get there because they probably will be bored.
A brand is a thing that people can differentiate from whatever else is out there.
All differences are not the same.
Understand the values of your customers and make them super plainly clear.
It is our job as entrepreneurs to look for those nuances of difference. Don’t be lazy and ignore those nuances of difference in values.
What you make and what you sell is not what people are buying. Don’t confuse features with the transformation.
Stop talking about yourself. It’s not about you.
A good brand makes us feel good about what THEY stand for and a great brand makes us feel good about what WE stand for.
Brands can never be married to their own solution. Brands need to be married to the customer’s desires and aspirations.

Dropping Nuggets of Gold Like They’re Going Out of Style

Jürgen is a terrific listener and asked great questions, questions that brought out nuggets that, in listening afterward to what we said, delighted me as I’d forgotten many of them.

My hat is off to Jürgen for being so attentive.