How much do your category buyers know about your brand?
Unless you're a market leader, where scale, consistent marketing investment, and history play a part, your category buyers probably have a limited knowledge of your brand.
Even if you are the market leader, you might be surprised by how little folks know. But don't let that get you down. It's the same for nearly everyone. People have more important (and less so) things to learn and remember.
Simply knowing your brand exists is a bloody excellent start.
When it comes to brand awareness and building memory, less is often more. Wanting category buyers to know more about your brand usually sees brands talk about lots and lots of things, but the more you say, the less that's remembered. It's crucial to remember that folks remember very little about brands, so getting them to know and remember one thing about you would be a great start.
How many would you catch if someone threw 5 or 6 balls at you?
1 or 2?
Perhaps none. You would have been concentrating, too. Sometimes, You can say the same for the audiences you are trying to engage.
The number of messages works like balls.
Firstly, no one likes to sit next to the person at a dinner party who talks at you, banging away about lots and lots of things about themselves. It's shit.
You want to sit next to an engaging person with great stories and a bit of humour who says just enough, but not too much, for you to say, "What a lovely person!". You may not remember anything they said, but you knew you liked them.
It's the same for brands. We are emotional beings, after all, and we like a good yarn and a smile, even in B2B marketing (to a point).
Be likeable, and you can say less. Category buyers will assume you're good at the category things you're supposed to be good at. Our brains do that for us without us even thinking about it.
Secondly, getting attention is hard. Saying a list of things, features, reasons to believe, ads that talk about five things in 30 seconds, print ads on billboards (it hurts me every single time), wordy retail offers that reach out-of-market audiences who don't care (they aren't looking to buy now), etc., won't often help.
But, being focused, saying one thing, focused on a benefit you deliver, not product features (unless the feature is genuinely groundbreaking and a real competitive advantage), and say that one thing loudly, consistently, with personality, charm, and a knowing glance and in time your category buyers will know something about you.
A long-term brand platform you nurture, love, and support is a beautiful thing in that regard. It can evolve, but it only really says one thing.
Lastly, if you make them like you, they'll think they know a little bit more about you even if you didn't tell them. We humans think and feel things we like are good; otherwise, why would we like them? We'll just make up shit to support that belief.
Be the brand at the category dinner table with whom category-buying guests want to spend some time.
Say less, and when you say it, make it glorious.
