How owning an idea in your customers mind is one of the most valuable results of successful branding.
Companies spend trillions every year trying to get their share of it. New Zealand’s most successful businesses invested billions last year to claim their piece. What is this highly desired resource? Forget about Auckland housing, this sought-after resource is the real estate of the mind. It is this ‘share of brain’ that companies are spending fortunes to secure, and every Kiwi business owner needs to know how to claim theirs to be successful.
Every great piece of good advertising is an attempt to plant an idea in your mind. But more importantly that idea needs to stay and grow into a permanent resident. One that becomes an old friend. One that you turn to whenever you need their help to solve a problem. Think about Google. Before they started in 1998 none of us knew what a Google was. One day you heard about them. The idea was planted. Now you turn to Google most days like an old friend, to solve any problem. They own that piece of your mind that needs to know answers.
What piece of mental real estate do you want your brand to own? Imagine if every potential customer in your area knew your brand name and the problem you can solve for them. Because once they know this then you are only one Google search away. They wouldn’t need to do a generic search where all your competitors are presented too. They would Google your name and then within seconds be on a direct path to your door. What would that be worth to you? To Google it’s worth trillions.
How do you increase your ‘share of brain’?
For this to be successful you need a marketing vision. Because increasing your ‘share of brain’ doesn’t happen overnight. It takes planning. Step out of your business for a few minutes. Think about the next three years and how much you could increase your share of brain. What if every potential customer in your geographic area knew your name? How many people would that be? What needs to change to reach this bigger group?
What’s your big idea?
Everyone knowing your name is not enough. You need to attach a positive reason to choose you. You need to articulate this positive reason with clarity. What do you want to stand for in the minds of customers? What problem do you solve for your customers? Put it into one sentence or a few words.
Wash and Repeat
How much are you prepared to invest in cementing your name and big idea into the customers’ minds? The number of times that a customer needs to connect with your message before they act has jumped up in recent years. Every industry is different but one thing is for sure, that number is more than once.
This is what branding is all about – owning an idea in someone’s mind. A brand is a brain tattoo. Something that won’t come off in the wash of the digital deluge that we call life. It takes continual energy to own an idea. Lots of others are trying to jump in front of you and push you out of the way. That is why most people find it hard to create content, communication and real connection. We Kiwis are sometimes too polite. But if you want to succeed in the digital world keep connecting, creating and communicating. Make it your goal to increase your ‘share of brain’ and the rewards will follow.
