by Sandra Sellani
Do you want your brand to be more recognizable, memorable, and profitable? Before you change your strategy, first determine if you have fallen into one of these three common brand traps. If you have, you may be unknowingly weakening your brand.

Brand Trap #1: Failing to understand what sets you apart from the competition. When I ask business leaders about their strongest point of competitive differentiation (the single feature that sets their company apart from its competitors), they often rattle off a list of items that are not differentiators. “We have the best-quality products.” “We have excellent customer service.” “We have integrity.” These are all admirable traits, but they are not differentiators. Consumers expect these items from us at a minimum, and the competition makes the same claims. If we focus on non-differentiators, we’ll look just like everyone else in our industry and be headed straight for “no brand’s land.”
What is a true differentiator? It is a real or perceived quality that is valuable to your clients and difficult for your competitors to imitate, like:
• A real estate agency with a proprietary marketing system guaranteed to sell your home in 30 days or less
• A car that ranks #1 in safety tests for 10 consecutive years
• A face cream that makes you look 10 years younger or your money back
Other examples of differentiators: an innovative product or service, exclusive technology, patents, company culture, endorsements by a celebrity spokesperson, unique experiences associated with your brand, or anything else that the consumer perceives to be yours and yours alone.
State your differentiation in one word or a short phrase. This will force you to simplify your core message (i.e., BMW’s “The Ultimate Driving Machine” or Volvo’s “safety” concept). If you don’t know your differentiator, find it. Ask your clients why they have chosen you over the competition. If they’re buying from you, there’s a reason. You are often too close to the business to recognize it.
A real estate company’s client survey revealed that 95 percent of clients chose the company because of the relationship they had formed with an individual sales agent. This helped the company modify its strategy to treat the salespeople as clients, and give them the tools they needed to attract more customers. By focusing on helping salespeople become successful, the company attracted a much larger sales force, which ultimately attracted more clients.

Brand Trap #2: Trying to sell too many differentiators. Many companies promote themselves with so many features and benefits, they miss trap #1 and step into trap #2—selling too many differentiators. Because consumers can be exposed to as many as 2,000 advertisements per day through radio, TV, print, Web, billboard, and other media, they need a single and relevant point to grasp. Too many messages confuse people, and confused people don’t buy.
Do you remember the late Johnnie Cochran representing O.J. Simpson in his murder trial? Poised before a weary jury that was overwhelmed with volumes of DNA evidence, Cochran regularly repeated the simple rhyme heard round the world, “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” His simple message stayed with the jurors, who ultimately set Simpson free despite significant evidence against him. After the trial, jurors repeated the line to reporters, stating that it was a strong influence on their decision for acquittal. And today, 13 years later, we still remember that single, powerful statement.
Branding is no different. Consumers are influenced by simplicity and repetition of a single relevant concept, like the Domino’s “Thirty minutes or less” tagline or Disneyland’s “Happiest Place on Earth.” These companies may have other differentiators, but by focusing on one, they transform their products and services into memorable brands.

Brand Trap #3: Competing on price only. A strategy to sell with a “low price” versus a differentiation model can be a valid one. Wal-Mart (with its “Low Prices Always” message) is a clear winner in this arena. But I don’t recommend this strategy. You will need to make up for low profit margins with high volume and impeccable operational efficiencies. There can only be one low-price leader. If you don’t think you can be a winner, don’t play the low-price game.

Relevance, Simplicity, and Repetition Build Brands

A business leader must work with her marketing department or agency to simplify the brand down to its most basic, compelling element. What is that one concept you can own that will set you apart? What is the word or phrase that will influence people and stay in their minds for many years to come? Define your difference. Live it. Leverage it. Repeat the concept in your brochures, Web site, press releases, sales presentations, and all points of consumer contact. If you focus on relevance, simplicity, and repetition of your differentiator, you will be rewarded with a powerful, inimitable, and enduring brand.

Sandra Sellani is a member of the Orange County, CA, Incubator, founder of the Sellani Group, and author of What’s Your BQ (Brand Quotient).