The Missing Component of Your Marketing Strategy

Published November 13, 2019

Many companies push promotional advertisement after promotional advertisement but can’t seem to break through to the next level of success. They spend a lot of money on advertising and marketing, but nothing they do seems to make a drastic impact. For most business owners, this is the extent of what marketing does — it informs potential customers of their products, services, or sales and promotions. But how can a new or struggling brand break through this plateau to become a strong brand that’s considered one of the best in their industry? There is one critical element missing from this marketing strategy: the why.

To better explain this missing element, let’s take a page out of Simon Sinek’s book and “start with the why.” It’s easy to know what a specific brand does or sells and how they do that, but the strongest form of branding your company lies in the why. Why do you do what you do? Your competitors offer similar whats and hows, but the why is what separates you from your competitors.

Giving the public a glimpse into why you do what you do will create a stronger emotional response than simply selling a quality service or product. For example, if there are two pizza businesses with equal distance from a new customer, similar products and websites, the customer’s final decision is likely going to go off a guess. Now, what if I told you that one pizza business employs at-risk youth, training them in necessary job skills they aren’t taught elsewhere? We could expect to see a shift in popularity, just by showing the why behind the business.

For some brands, what makes them unique from their competitors may not be dramatic, and that’s okay! Building your why can include giving people a glimpse inside your company’s work culture. Post photos of themed dress-up days, company events, or any other fun snippets of your work culture. You should also shift your advertising efforts away from constantly pushing your products or services and mix in some general branding paid advertising. In other words, advertise your brand as a whole rather than specific products and services.Show a new audience your company’s why — think of the one statement and imagery you want someone who knows nothing about your brand to see.

After a short time, you’ll see a shift that we see with our clients. General branding content and posts highlighting the why behind your business will be a lot more popular with your audience than your promotions. From here, you can take the next step and incorporate the why into specific products or services. Why will having your product or service benefit your customer? Apple currently is a master of this. Their ads focus on what their product can allow you to do rather than what the product does.

Showing potential customers the why behind your business and products can make a big impact on your advertising and marketing efforts. If you need help discovering your why or creating graphics highlighting your why, we’re here to help!