Regardless of what you are trying to build, there is no denying that it feels harder than ever to build a business and brand that cuts through. You are competing for fractured attention, a smaller slice of disposable income, and an increasingly crowded market where everyone seems to have their own edge.
I have spent more than a decade in brand marketing working in consumer goods, most of it in one of the most crowded categories there is: alcoholic beverages. There are over 5,000 breweries in the U.S., and I can guarantee that 96% of them make an IPA. I have marketed against breweries that put beard yeast in their beer (true story).
When every beer is only slightly different, they all start sounding the same. And this is not just a problem in the industries I have worked in.
So how do you stand out when everyone claims to be different?
First, think about where you are standing.
Not every brand needs a philanthropic purpose, but every brand needs a guiding principle. Your product may solve a problem for a specific set of customers who align around a shared identity or value. CLIF Bar was not the first energy bar, but it was the first made for recreational athletes looking for whole ingredients and easy energy. For cosmetic brands like Dove, which makes many different products, the brand purpose is to make every woman feel beautiful. Their product innovation, marketing, and messaging all say the same thing, just in different ways.
If you are not sure what your brand principle should be, start with why you created your business in the first place. Yes, there may be a profit motive, but why did you choose this particular product or service? What problem does it solve, and why are you the right person to solve it?
Know who you are standing for.
Not every product is for everyone, and it should not be. The strongest brands stand for a specific consumer first, whether that is Patagonia’s aspirational adventurers or Gucci’s coveted luxury lifestyle.
Staking your claim to a community not only differentiates you from your competition, it also makes your brand decision-making easier. What brands like CLIF Bar did well from the start was integrate themselves into an existing community and focus their efforts there. For CLIF Bar it came naturally: the founder was an avid cyclist, which made cycling and active outdoor communities easy to access.
Standing for a specific community also helps you tell your story with your consumer at the center, which makes it easier to connect with people who are already looking for a solution to the problem you solve. It also makes it easy to say yes to opportunities that serve your audience and no to the ones that do not. You are not going to see Patagonia at a country music festival, but you might see Wrangler.
Going deep in one community first creates long-term customers instead of reaching a lot of people once or twice without giving them time to buy into your brand.
Then, stand steady.
The strongest brands are built like Patagonia and Wrangler: they planted their flag and kept it there. When you try to expand your target customer before you have a strong base of repeat sales, you risk losing your existing customers without actually reaching new ones.
Think of it like building a habit. Research suggests it takes doing something consistently 18 to 21 times before a habit forms. If you are not reaching the right customers that many times when they are ready to buy, you may go the way of most New Year’s resolutions by mid-January.
The next time you feel like you are saying the same thing over and over, ask yourself how many times you have seen every piece of content or attended every event your favorite brand has activated. The answer is probably never. Your customers are no different. Post the content. Show up consistently with the same messaging and presence. Repetition builds recognition.
Decide what you stand for and who you stand for. Then keep showing up and keep telling your story, with your consumer at the forefront.
About the Author
Leah Keggi is a brand marketer, author of The Merch Blueprint, and writer of On Brand Building, a weekly Substack exploring how businesses become brands that matter. She has been a SEED SPOT mentor for several cohorts and loves advising entrepreneurs as they build their businesses with a focus on marketing and brand strategy.
The Merch Blueprint: https://amzn.to/4wX5yhE
Substack: leahkeggi.substack.com
