A Great Brand Doesn't Chase Buyers

I have encountered so many businesses (I will not call them brands) looking so desperate in the market. They try to show themselves as the best, most effective and/or most affordable brand out there.

Even after much input on aesthetics, lowered prices, and shouting about how 'great' they are. They still do not attract the best clients to sustain them. This explains why 9/10 startups die within the first 3 years of their operations.

Sadly, most of these startups are those in the creative industry because everyone else is doing exactly what everyone else is doing: competing on pricing aesthetics and talking about how big, modern and effective they are.

How about you stop merely running a business and start creating a brand? A business buys and sells to make a profit. It is mostly anchored on price. A brand, on the other hand, sells more than the product. It sells intangible things like value and experiences.

Customers who buy your products based on how they feel are more loyal than those who buy because of functionality. A client rather says, "They were expensive, but I really loved their professionalism. I loved how I was treated." That's value and a good experience. 

How do you sell value? How do you just turn from a profit-making business to a valuable brand? How do you stop chasing clients and make them drawn to you?

1. Understand your audience's desires: Identify what your target audience truly wants. What core values and beliefs do they hold that your product or service can connect with?

2. Understand their motivations: Go beyond the surface to uncover the emotions and aspirations linked to these desires. How can your offering satisfy these deeper emotional needs?

3. Leverage visual psychology: Recognize the impact of aesthetics. Visuals are powerful in stirring emotions. Consider what design, imagery, or presentation will emotionally engage your audience.

4. Communicate effectively: Deliver your message in a way that resonates with your audience. Tailor your pitch or campaign to align with the desires and beliefs of the specific group you're targeting.

I came across this crazy statistic, "9 out of 10 startups fail in the first three years of operation," and that has kept me thinking. It is shocking that only 10% of people get to build something solid that can stand the test of time. There are about 7 billion people on the planet; just imagine that only 10% of them get to build something firm.

How about the 90%? What do they build? Well, everyone is building something. Everybody is building a house; someone is building using dried grass, someone else is building using wood, another mud, another stone, and another, always called out for being too proud, a snob and extravagant, is using precious stones.

Since everything is refined by quakes, shakes, and fire, only 10% of those who decided to build using precious stones stood the test of time. You see, precious stones are rare; they are expensive and hard to acquire. Only a few are willing to go the extra mile to search and get their hands dirty to dig for it.

The overwhelming majority keep wishing because they do not want to get their hands dirty. Sadly, they don't even know what they are building, and they keep wishing that they were like the 10% who did their best to gain knowledge and skills to understand their 'WHY'. They get to understand why building using precious stones is more important than merely using other building materials.

Today, I want to share with you 5 books that can really help you build something worthwhile.

1. Sell Like Crazy - Sabri Suby

2. Start With Why - Simon Sinek

3. Brand Gap - Marty Neumeier

4. This is Marketing - Seth Godin

5. Zero To One - Peter Thiel

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