Brands live in the mind

Brands are not mere things; instead, they are representations of highly valued ideas that reside in the minds of customers and stakeholders. A brand strategy’s success or failure depends on how well brand owners understand how the mind operates.

Strong, healthy brands maintain an intrinsic value to customers that, over time, translates into tangible financial value for the brand’s owners. Users care about what a brand represents to them on the highest emotional level. The features and functional benefits are of lesser importance, exemplified by the differences between HubSpot and Marketo, Dropbox and Box, or Tesla and its competitors.

HubSpot differentiated itself from Marketo by focusing on “inbound marketing,” a methodology that emphasizes attracting, engaging, and delighting customers. HubSpot positioned itself as a thought leader in the space by offering an all-in-one platform that caters to businesses looking to create a robust inbound marketing strategy. In contrast, Marketo, while also providing marketing automation tools, leans more towards B2B marketing and lead management, catering to a slightly different audience.

Both cloud storage solutions, Dropbox and Box, took distinct paths in pursuing market share. Dropbox focuses on creating a user-friendly experience and seamless integration with personal devices, appealing to individual users and small teams. On the other hand, Box positioned itself as an enterprise-level solution, emphasizing security and collaboration features that cater to larger organizations and their specific needs.

Tesla set itself apart from its competitors through its unwavering commitment to innovation, sustainability, and a futuristic vision. By developing cutting-edge electric vehicles, investing in solar power technology, and creating a robust charging infrastructure, Tesla built a brand that resonates with environmentally conscious consumers seeking a driving experience that is both luxurious and eco-friendly. In comparison, traditional automakers have been slower to adopt and promote electric vehicle technology, allowing Tesla to establish itself as a trailblazer in the industry.

These examples demonstrate how focusing on specific aspects and defining their brands based on emotional appeal rather than just features and functionality have enabled them to differentiate themselves from their competitors and achieve lasting success.

Strong, healthy brands maintain an intrinsic value to customers that, over time, translates into tangible financial value for the brand’s owners.

Sounds simple enough. The trouble is that users’ minds are fickle; worse, the marketplace is a slush pile of competing brands. It’s easy for brands to lose relevance with customers quickly—especially in our age of instant connections, abundant choice, and rapid consumption.

Brands with the sticking power to drive user behaviors over time consistently lead their tribe of loyal advocates forward through a compelling value proposition and positioning that transcends the user’s inherent and natural tendencies toward fickleness for the next greatest thing.

A brand strategy’s success or failure depends on how well brand owners understand how the mind operates.

Minds have limited capacity. The mind rejects any information that does not compute. It accepts only new information that matches its current state of mind. The mind has no room for what is new and different unless it relates to the familiar.

Minds resist confusion. People resist that which is confusing and cherish that which is simple. They want to push a button and watch the thing work. People love simplicity.

Minds are insecure and emotional. Minds are emotional, not rational. People choose products for emotional reasons. And when people are uncertain, they often look to others (influencers) to help them decide how to act. People don’t like being out of the loop.

Minds don’t change often. We are more impressed by what we already know (or buy) than what’s “new.” Once a mind has formed a habit, it’s challenging to change.

Minds have difficulty staying focused. The more variations attached to a brand, the more the mind loses focus. As the brand loses focus, it becomes more vulnerable. In the realm of SaaS businesses, such as customer relationship management platforms, project management tools, or data analytics software, the specialist or the well-focused competitor consistently emerges as the winner.

So again, HubSpot’s focus is on “Inbound Marketing.” By concentrating on this concept and offering an all-in-one solution, HubSpot positioned itself as the go-to platform for businesses looking to attract, engage, and delight customers. They built a loyal following through their focus and solidified their brand as a thought leader in the inbound marketing space. Their commitment to this single, simple, ownable, credible, highly valued, and differentiated position in the minds of their target audience has been a key factor in their ongoing success.

Strong brands need to be exceptional at one thing rather than good at many things. Strong brands represent a single, simple, ownable, credible, highly valued, and differentiated position in the minds of the target audience segment the brand serves.