Not all facts are equally important. That’s why any business, any product, any service, and any organization needs the most important thing to know about branding.
Whether you’re talking with Daymond John, Grant Cardone, Gary Vaynerchuk, or any others who are making an impact in the world, they all agree on one fact: Being average sucks with “competing on price” and “blending in” vying for second place.
Those who know me think I am all about differentiation, which is fairly true.
But those who really know me understand I will always ask, “Is there more? Is this really the finish line? Or is this really the starting line?”
How Different Do You Need To Be To Stay Relevant for Over 5 Decades?
“Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste…”
Just look at Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones who have survived longer than any other rock and roll brand.
That’s right. I said rock and roll brand.
Granted it’s only rock and roll, but I like it.
What’s their secret to dancing in the streets and staying relevant for 58 years?
I spell it out in this week’s One Minute Wednesday.
Why Brand Relevance Is The Most Important Thing to Know About Branding
We’ve all heard the great influencers of today state, “I started with zero followers…” etc.
Well, there’s a correlating fact: we all start at “average” either in 1) skill, expertise, or value, or 2) how many know about us or have discovered what we can offer.
This is NO comment on being great, talented, amazing, disruptive, innovative, or unbelievably outstanding.
It all has to do with, at the very beginning, we were all “blending in.” (For some of us, that’s a long period, for others it’s fleeting, so DO. NOT. BLINK. Or you may miss it.)
THAT is what I mean by “average.” We’re simply blending in.
If you ever STARTED anything, there was a moment when you blended in.
And then it was YOU who decided, “This is bullshit,” and started your ascent to rise above the noise.
It was true for the Rolling Stones. It was true for Gary Vee. It’s true for you and me.
“Sure, We Differentiate. So Why Isn’t Anyone Paying Attention?”
The real question you need to be asking is this: “How much differentiation do I need?”
After you’ve differentiated, you need to establish how remarkable your differentiation is to truly stand apart.
This is the only way your voice gets heard in the world.
- This applies to personal brands.
- This applies to physical products.
- This applies to service brands.
- This applies to husbands, wives, parents, etc.
In other words, this applies to LIFE.
To give you a helping hand, I put together a powerful scale every brand needs to know (and yes, this is the most important thing to know about branding).
After I completed the original scale, I realized the scale had more steps to achieve going up and more steps that brands descended down to.
In the scale below, please note “Remarkably different” is called that because the degree to which you’re different is “remarkable in the eyes of your customer” and not simply being eccentric or “really different” without any other rhyme or reason.
Soon after, I realized just as there was a scale to ascend for the ultimate in Brand Relevance, there was the descent to total Brand Irrelevance. This is how the final scale came about:
How To Assess Where You Are
Where do you or your brand fall on this scale?
Do this:
- Look at where your competition is, what they’re offering your potential customers already.
- With that information, refer back to this final scale and see where you fall.
That will give you the bead on where you truly are.
I leave you with this question: How high will you rise (and shine) today?
If your answer is “I can’t get no satisfaction” — let’s talk.
Seriously.
