Want To Build a Brand Your Competitors Wish They Created?

The market is crowded.

Your competitors vie for your customers’ attention. Everywhere. All the time.

Building a brand that’s unforgettable—maybe even envied—requires more than just meeting the standards in your category.

You must go above and beyond the standard to win share of mind. And, ultimately, win share of wallet.

Today’s newsletter focuses on 5 strategies to become irreplaceable for your customers and envied by your competitors.

1. Rethink “Better”—Aim for Different

Your market is filled with good companies.

Most of them put their efforts into being incrementally better than their competitors:

• A few more features

• Slightly better service

• Minor improvements on industry standards.

But when they do that, they all end up playing the same game. It becomes hard to tell them apart.

None appear to offer a significantly different solution.

To customers, it often feels like a coin toss. And convenience and price start to dominate decision-making.

This becomes exacerbated when companies mistake drivers of choice for the category for what makes them different.

Drivers of choice are things like convenience, quality, price, and comfort. They’re the functional criteria you must meet to do business in a category.

But just doing them better doesn’t make you stand out. It just makes it easy to compare your brand to the competition.

And, in many cases, customers don’t even believe it: look at the websites in an industry and many claim to be the best at the same thing.

It feels empty.

Being different in a way that matters to your customers makes a brand irreplaceable.

This kind of differentiation requires a deep understanding of your customers.

Customers want brands that feel tailored to their needs.

You need to see them, their challenges, and their goals in a way that your competitors don’t. Only then can you craft a brand that resonates deeply and becomes something they choose over and over again.

Think about a core issue your customers face that goes beyond product features—a need that feels personal. Think beyond the obvious and find something that would make your customers’ lives meaningfully better.

This is where the magic happens: you change the playing field by zeroing in on a problem your competitors have overlooked.

Consider how Airbnb won not by providing the most comfortable or luxurious experience. They won by enabling people to feel like they’re a part of the local scene, like they “belong anywhere.”

Action Step

Review your five top competitors. Write down what they offer to their customers. What can you offer that’s different?

One of the best ways to do it is to play with the opposite of what competitors are doing. If it’s a good idea, the opposite may be a good idea that appeals to a different group of people.

In Airbnb’s case, they make travelers feel like locals, playing to the opposite of hotels that make guests feel like special visitors.

2. Tune In to What Your Customers Aren’t Saying

Instead of looking at competitors, turn to your customers.

But don’t take everything they say at face value.

Customer insights aren’t just found in feedback forms.

Customers don’t always tell you their biggest frustrations outright.

And they don’t know how to ask for something they’ve never experienced.

It’s your job to spot the patterns in what they say, observe their behaviors, and understand those unspoken needs.

You have to figure out where they are. And then imagine where they should be.

How should they be changed into a better version of themselves by using your products?

Look at how Peloton didn’t just sell home gym equipment.

They tapped into a need for community and turned a solitary experience into a shared experience.

Customers didn’t ask for it. But they found it was exactly what they needed.

Anticipating needs makes your customers feel like you really know them.

Action Step

Review your customer data. Look for patterns or recurring themes that hint at frustrations or desires beyond what’s explicitly said. Write down one insight you’ve ignored so far. Then, think of how your brand might address it.

3. Be Clear and Consistent at Every Touchpoint, Always

Most brands have a touchpoint problem.

And they don't realize it.

Every touchpoint—every way your customer interacts with your brand—either reinforces the brand or weakens it.

It’s the:

• Way you greet customers

• Content of your TV ads

• Product performance

• UX of your website

• Ease of returns.

(even the ads you didn’t label as brand marketing)

Everything your customers perceive reinforces what they believe about you.

Or it conflicts with it. And confuses them.

I’ve never worked with a brand that didn’t admit a problem with some touchpoints when they took the time to examine them.

When you feel like you have a million things to take care of, it’s easy to be lax on some touchpoints.

But strong brands do just the opposite.

Patagonia lives up to its mission of preserving the planet with a radical return policy that matches its mission. They buy back used clothing, repair it, and find it a new home.

All the money spent on branding doesn't matter if the customer experiences don't clearly reflect what you want the brand to be.

It's simple:

• Identity Problem —> Confusion

• Confusion —> Not Remembered

• Not Remembered —> Not Considered.

And if you don’t get considered?

You don’t get purchased.

Every touchpoint can contribute to your brand or break it.

It can reinforce beliefs. Or confuse customers.

And confusion doesn’t sell.

Action Step

Make a list of all of your touchpoints. Now, imagine a customer engaging with your brand at that touchpoint. Then ask: how well would that interaction live up to reflecting your brand?

Rate each touchpoint on a three-point scale:

1. Poorly reflects the brand.

2. Somewhat reflects the brand.

3. Strongly reflects the brand.

Take your lowest-scoring touchpoints and come up with one change you can implement to improve the brand experience.

4. Transcend the Product

Most brands stop at the product.

But brands that stick in customers’ minds provide value beyond the transaction.

They create experiences, add valuable resources, and offer extras that customers don’t expect.

In doing so, they make the brands a bigger part of their customers’ lives.

One of the best ways to do it is to bring customers together around the way you make their lives better.

For Star Trek fans, there are conventions. For Harley riders, there are HOG rallies.

When I consulted Turner Classic Movies (TCM), they struggled to find revenue sources.

So, we went to the fans.

We wanted to know what they loved about classic films and what made TCM unique.

We:

• Analyzed forum responses

• Found fans that love the brand

• Interviewed 14 fans across two cities.

And we concluded that there would be huge potential for a classic film festival to bring its fans together.

The festival was a smash success. It will hold its 15th anniversary in April.

TCM monetized its brand and created a deeper relationship with its customers by extending the brand beyond the product.

Action Step

Think about how your brand improves your customers’ lives. How does it create a better tomorrow? Then, come up with a list of ways to bring customers together around that better tomorrow that extends beyond just using the product.

5. Keep Testing and Improving, Even When You Think You’ve Nailed It

A brand that rests on past success won’t stay competitive for long.

Great brands never stop evolving.

Because if they do, they get left behind. And they lose their greatness.

Run small tests, explore new messaging, and check if your core message still resonates as your audience grows and market dynamics shift.

With its consistent “Just Do It” tagline, even Nike evolves how they bring this message to life year after year.

And Netflix keeps refining its algorithm to improve how they match customers with the perfect movie.

Adjustments may be small but compound over time, keeping you relevant so users stay engaged.

Like Nike and Netflix, the key is to keep looking for ways to improve what you promise to deliver.

Action Step

Think about things that have remained the same for over a year. Evaluate whether they’re performing as well as they did or are now just getting you by.

If they’re just getting you by, chances are they will soon be leaving you behind. So, brainstorm ways to modify them to meet your current market.

Onward

Customers remember the brands that dare to do things differently to improve their lives.

And when you get remembered, you’re more likely to get chosen.

These five strategies aren’t quick fixes.

They’re strategic approaches that gradually build a brand customers respect, talk about, and purchase from over and over again.

1. Rethink “Better”—Aim for Different

2. Tune Into What Customers Aren’t Saying

3. Be Clear and Consistent at Every Touchpoint, Always

4. Transcend the Product

5. Keep Testing and Improving, Even When You Think You’ve Nailed It

In a world where brands are increasingly similar, a unique brand is rare—and valuable.

Use these strategies and start building a brand that truly matters to your customers, one your competitors will wish they had thought of first.

P.S. If you want help implementing these strategies to create a brand that is irreplaceable to your customers and envied by your competitors, just respond to this email, and I’ll help you get started.