What you do is not what ultimately makes you desirable to those you hope to serve.

Unfortunately, this is difficult to discern when you conduct research with your customers and prospects. I've seen plenty of this research. You ask a group why they like or prefer a brand. They'll tell you about some feature or function of that brand. Because that's the easy stuff to identify.

So companies and organizations will take that finding and say that's what we need to talk about the most. They go about doing that and get tepid results. And, yes, it is as maddening as it sounds to be caught in this process.

So what's the alternative?

Most brands' features and functions aren't compelling enough to emotionally engage prospects. That can be hard for companies to accept. After all, their offering is their baby. How couldn't the world be as excited as they are about it?

The smarter brands turn to the benefits of their features and functions. Those can be expressed in terms like 'it saves you time' or 'it makes life easier'. Now we're getting to the feels. We're inching away from the rational side of our brain and toward that emotional side. You know, the side where all our decision-making is done.

We're starting to feel like enlightened marketers, right? Well, not so fast.

Along came the internet

In the old days, you could really go to town talking about the benefits of your features and functions. Then the internet happened. And everything sped up. Brands could counter competitors' benefit claims with lightning speed. If you had a benefit that gave you an advantage, that advantage didn't last very long.

Additionally, the digital channels opened the flood gates. It became inexpensive for any and every brand to message – from digital ads to content marketing to social media engagement. We all became inundated.

Suddenly, benefits had an exponentially shorter shelf life and an exponentially more crowded environment to try to operate in.

The enlightened shift

So what is a marketer to do? I like to sum it up like this:

Stop obsessing over what makes you different and start focusing on what difference you can make.

This is the next-level strategy for brands. It moves beyond features and functions. It even moves beyond the benefits of the features and functions to talk about the benefit of the benefit – the difference your brand can make in a life, a community, and even the world (I call this your Big Audacious Meaning).

Taking this purpose-driven approach has numerous advantages:

• It elevates you above the morass of messaging that focuses on features and function or the basic benefits

• It connects you deep into the emotional side of the brain where decision-making is done

• It is a sustainable approach – you are no longer constantly having to adjust your positioning. Your purpose is something you clarify and then pursue.

It's important to say this again – what you do is not what ultimately makes you desirable.

What makes you desirable is what you do for others. How you serve others. The difference you make. When your brand makes this strategic shift, great things start to happen. Because you are prioritizing serving over selling. That surprises prospects. And then it turns them into customers, advocates, and evangelists.