New Year, New Brand

It’s rather surreal. We’re not only closing out the year, we’re closing out the decade. Tomorrow, January 1st, is a brand new opportunity!

Whether you’re a one-person-herd or part of a global corporation, growing a Sticky Brand is a choice:

• It’s a choice to stand out and be remarkable.
• It’s a choice to build meaningful customer relationships.
• It’s a choice to innovate and cut your own path in your industry.
• It’s a choice to attract customers and drive sales.

That’s the opportunity that lies before you in 2020: Grow a Sticky Brand.‍

It’s no accident that some companies grow better brands than others. This was evident in the research I conducted for my first book, Sticky Branding.

I profiled 150 companies from around the globe to understand how small- and mid-sized, privately-held businesses grow remarkable brands. I didn’t care how companies like Apple or Nike grew their brands. I wanted to understand how companies like yours and mine created products, services, and brands that customers truly appreciate and admire.

My definition of a “Sticky Brand” is a company that creates a “First Choice Advantage.”

Strong branding forms a bond with your customers — a bond where they choose you first. When you have a Sticky Brand your customers think of your brand first, refer it first, and come back again and again. That relationship is what makes your brand sticky.

‍Any company of any size can grow a Sticky Brand.

‍But the companies that grow the best brands — the stickiest brands — do something differently. They choose to grow a “brand.” This was a critical insight from the research.Having lots of money and resources, or brilliantly talented marketers, wasn’t the defining factor for why some organizations stand out above their competitors. It was far simpler than that. In each case, the organizations with truly remarkable brands had made a choice to grow a brand.

‍That choice led them to a different mode of thinking.

Branding isn’t simply marketing. You cannot distill it to logos, taglines, colors, or campaigns. Branding is about the bond you form with your customers, and that is strategic!

Your brand is grown from the inside out, and what creates potential (that translate into remarkable customer experiences) is how everyone in your organization works together.Every department and customer touchpoint plays a role in forming exceptional customer experiences: From the look and feel of your website and packaging; to the functionality and design of your products; to the caliber of your salespeople and customer service reps.

‍Branding isn’t simply the job of marketers. It’s the job of everyone.

‍That understanding leads CEOs and business leaders to treat their brands and branding as a critical component of the business strategy. And that again, is a choice.

‍As you start the next decade, make the choice: Grow a Sticky Brand.You have the power to innovate and serve your customers brilliantly. So take this as a challenge. You have a New Year, a New Decade, and an opportunity to grow a New Brand!