What Makes a "Good" Brand?

This would be where I’d put a list of brands that you should mimic but I’m not going to do that. The point of branding isn’t to be like someone else. It’s to be like you and no one else. Resolutely focused. Consistent. Unapologetic. Distinctly memorable.

What is good?

Focused – A good brand knows who it is and why it’s doing what it’s doing. It knows its audience and its value It isn’t swayed by trends but can levereage a trend while remaining true to itself.
Consistent – Every touch point is easily recognized as your brand because you leverage and defend your brand messaging and brand assets with purpose.
Unapologetic – Your brand doesn’t try to be all things to all people. As much as it attracts the right audience it should repel the wrong. It doesn’t do this out. of malice but from necessity. All things to all people is all things to no one.
Memorable – Finally, your brand is clear on who it is and what problem it solves. It doesn’t blend into the everyday noise but rises above the din like a lighthouse in a storm, calling its audience to safe harbors.

How do we get there?

It all comes down to research. While a lot of what follows can now be done by AI, I believe that the outcomes cannot. AI can tell you what’s there but a solid brand is built in the gaps.

A thoughtful, research-based approach

We need to understand the gap between who we say we are, what we say we do, and what others say about us. And what they say about themselves.

Company – Review your product line, culture, goals, image, and technology. The easiest places to find this comes from interviews, website and blog content, social media collateral, and resource content. You must ruthlessly dissect what you actually say about yourselves. Not what you want to be, but what you are. No aspirations. No dreams. No fluff.
Customers – How do your customers say that you are helping them and where are you failing? Don’t pick just the top customers. Pick the newest, the oldest, and the ones that you know you are losing. Find out where you’re missing the mark. Uncover what feature they need they need to shine. Ask how you can improve.
Competitors – What are their strengths, weakness, and threats? In the same vein as our company research, who do they say they are and what do they say about you? Look for their comparison sheets. What features, functionality, and benefits do they offer that frighten you?What are they really good at? What do they offer that makes you look bad? What feature, if they were to add it, would spell trouble for you?
Collaborators – How do partnerships and alliances influence and extend your market reach?Do they make you more accessible? More embeddable? Intractable? Valuable? Are your collaborators helping you reach a new demographic? Do their values align with yours? How? Be specific.
Climate – What are the economic, social, political, and technological factors that enhance or impede your success?
- Economic – Will a down economy hurt you or help you? What about an upturn? Are there specific indicators you should be watching?
- Social – Is public sentiment leaning in your favor? Do you care?
- Political – There is a new president. Do you care? Should you?
- Technological – Are there any new or upcoming breakthroughs that you would benefit from? Or could they put you out of business tomorrow?
SWOT analysis – Finally, how does all of this research map out into your strenghts, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

This process should be painful if you are doing it honestly. It should uncover both your gaps and gaps in the marketplace.

Find the gap. Own the gap.

Once you’ve uncovered the gaps in the marketplace and in your own messaging, it’s time to lean in and decide which of those gaps you want to own.

Language gaps – What isn’t being said that we CAN say?
Purpose gaps – What is different about what drives us?
Positional gaps – What are we doing that is different and defensible?

Outcomes

Now that you’ve decided which gaps to own, it’s time to build your messaging around them,

Problem statement – What problem are you trying to solve?
Purpose statement – Why are you trying to solve it?
Position statement – How is what you are doing unique?
Messaging platform – Differentiation, boilerplates, umbrella message, etc.

The key here is to be singularly focused on the gaps and resist the temptation to be all things to all people. It will feel like a risk to leave out an audience. The real risk is losing your difference to include them. The more audiences you try to attract, the less clear your value becomes.

What about the visuals?

The brand identity is important but if you’ve ignored the above, it won’t matter how pretty or edgy or whatever your brand identity is. Words matter. Words drive meaning, intent, and direction. There’s an analogy about putting lipstick on a pig, but that isn’t the pigs fault.