Anyone can start a business. In a few clicks, anyone can create product listings, an online store, publish ads. This means…

We are in a world of infinite supply.

Every market, every industry is flooding with brands offering similar products and solutions.

So, to be unique, you need to have a brand that cares about customers and maintains a deep connection with them.

 

Four ways to have a brand that stands out

✔️ Understand your customers’ needs

Most businesses can easily describe the “what” and the “how” they function. For example, say I’m a digital marketer, describing “what” I do is to help brands and businesses ensure they leverage digital means to the fullest. The “how” varies from every digital marketer, but it tends to involve social media marketing, Google Ads, or some form of advertising.

The thing that will help me stand out from others is moving from “what” and “how” to “why.” The “why” is what will make a potential customer choose me another freelancer.

In general, your customers are fine with how you do your work – the internal process, tools/materials used, and things like that. What your customers care about is, “why does *your brand name* matter in their life?”

How do you find your “why.”

Customer research and analysis is a great start point.

Asking your current customers how your products and solutions help them understand how they describe the benefits of it.

 

✔️ Benefits of your business: practical and emotional

Now you can begin chalking the various types of benefits you offer.

Practical benefits

Thinking about the ‘features and attributes’ you provide. Ask questions like: What is your brand offering? How are you making consumers benefit? How will it reap the profits?

For example, I will say the benefit of my services is to manage all of a business’s digital presence.

Then, the unique benefit of how customers can ‘improve their lives’ when they have bought your product or service. These benefits include how to help them, your efforts to help customers make forward progress.

For example, I will say the benefits of my services will help a company track progress of its digital growth through monthly reports. Or in the case of delivery service: 1-day delivery service with offer the benefit of emergency couriers to reach on time.

 

Emotional benefits

An emotional connection is really what makes a brand unique.

One emotional benefit of Netflix, for example, enabling viewers to binge-watch all episodic shows all at once.

With me, I may say the emotional benefit of working with me is peace of mind knowing that your brand is in safe hands.

 

✔️ Say it with a tagline.

“It’s finger lickin’ good,” “Because you’re worth it,” “There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard.”

These are great brand taglines that stuck on. By saying a few words, they’ve boiled down their message to a memorable tagline.

Expressing your whole business down to a few words can be very tough. Create a team idea sharing, brainstorm, riff on ideas in private too. Sometimes the best ideas come outside of the office.

To begin writing a tagline, write what your business delivers for customers in all the words you find. Remember the emotional benefits you offer.

Next, edit that to one or two sentences. Repeat till there’s just a sentence, phrase, or a few words left. Take the final copy piece and experiment with different versions: Rewrite it, use synonyms, and make it longer or shorter.

So: “Why is a tagline so important?”

I have never bought a KFC bucket only because their tagline is “finger lickin’ good,” but because it is irresistible. And so is everything on the menu. Having their mission clear and everything they do – is guided by this vision.

 

✔️ Your brand resonates your business

We see Nike’s mission “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world” in everything they do.

They hold every single person as an athlete, not just the pros. They create innovative clothing and footwear. Every piece of content – their inspiring stories and message on social media revolve around it.

Of course, not all businesses will have the resources of Nike, or the access to global superstars for that matter. But it still serves a great example of ensuring the essence of your brand shines through on every platform.

To go back to the delivery service example I mentioned earlier. If your “why” is delivering happiness on time, so customers have their urgent parcels, you could ensure all your content supports this mission.

This could mean video testimonial posts of the two business branches exchanging documents with fast shipping, or blog posts about your safe process of exchanging parcels and a customer’s parcel is in the right hands.

 

Your brand is your identity; everything you do should represent what your brand wants to be.