Can your customer really feel your product? Yep, we’re going there — well, not there. Let’s rephrase.
What we mean is that people don’t buy products. People buy brands.
In the Sea of Sameness …
When it really comes down to it, products are commodities. Dove is just soap, Starbucks is just coffee, Maybelline is just mascara, and Salesforce is just a CRM software.
Products are commodities. Even with fancy features and patents, they are easily replicated the minute they ship. Competitors are ready to eat your lunch at every turn.
… Your Brand is Your Strategic Differentiation
The good news? There is one thing that guarantees your customer will feel your product — and that’s brand.
Every time your customer has a gut feeling about your product, that’s brand. Every time your customer makes an emotional connection to your company, that’s brand. And in the long run, market leadership can be traced back to brand, too.
Brand is the competitive differentiation that creates whitespace. It gets you out of the Sea of Sameness every time. It is the key to unrivaled market leadership.
The Bottom Line
Brand is the EDGE. No matter how great your product is, it’s a commodity. People come back time and again to buy brands, not products.
Your employees are only an asset if they believe in and live your brand everyday, always channeling the customer mindset. And customers will only buy and keep buying if you remind them of your brand’s value, engage them, and deliver what they want and need by evolving as they evolve.
Long story short? Brand is the force multiplier.