Having a compelling brand is generally regarded as a good thing. I mean, nobody aspires to create a so-so brand. Or a boring brand. But beyond just making you feel good, what are the reasons that a compelling brand is important in today’s market? Here is a look at why the state of your brand may be more important than you realize.

Functional differentiation is rare

It used to be that a brand could come up with a unique functional attribute of its offering and then promote that attribute to differentiate the brand. Sometimes a brand could ride that one piece of differentiation for years. Today, it’s a different story. Competitors can replicate your unique functional attribute at lightning speed. And let the world know in a flash through digital channels. 

Sorry to say that the innovation timeline has been compressed. So if you’re relying solely on it to differentiate your brand, you could find yourself struggling.

But wait, it gets worse.

Prospects have unlimited access to information 

It used to be a bit of work for your prospects to find and analyze their options. Well, no more. You do realize how easy it is for your prospect to find 5 alternatives to your offering, right? It takes very little effort. Just type in “alternatives to (your brand name). In a split second, Google returns all kinds of options. Some of those options may be third-party sites that have done a comparison between you and your competitors. 

To top it off, AI could make it even easier. For example, I typed this prompt into Gemini: “Give me an analysis of the difference between Starbucks coffee and Caribou coffee.” What I got back was impressive. It gave me a breakdown of flavor differences, specialty drink selections, a comparison of prices, atmospheres, and more.

For your brand to stand out, it needs to mean something

Your brand needs to stand for something more than just the sum of its functional features. It needs to deliver an emotional benefit for those you hope to serve. 

You can get there by looking beyond what your features do to what your features do for those you hope to serve. Don’t settle for benefits like “it makes life easier” or “it saves time”. I like the idea of finding the benefit of the benefit. It’s going deeper to discover the believable ways that your brand can have a deep and meaningful impact in a prospect’s life.

The power of a meaningful brand

Research has shown that, all things being equal, the brand that has real meaning to a prospect is the brand that will win. The part of that statement that often gets overlooked is “all things being equal”. Today, it’s more likely than not that competing brands will seem awfully similar for all the reasons mentioned above.

The net of all this is that if you’re constantly building new features but not building your brand, you’re fighting a losing battle against your competitors. That is, all things being equal. And today more than ever, they are.