Building A Brand Identity That Appeals To Your Target Market

Two brands sell the same product on a store shelf. But only one grabs your attention. Why? It's not because of the benefits or tagline. → It's the story behind that brand that hooks you. The story explains why it exists. It also tells its purpose beyond profits. See, people don't buy what you sell - they buy why you sell it. This creates and emotional connection. Stories are what forge those bonds. The best brands in the world use the power of storytelling. - #Nike collects inspiring athlete stories. They show struggle and triumph. The stories personify Nike's "Just Do It" mentality. - #Apple positions itself as the underdog revolutionary. It shakes up the tech world to "Think Different" and empower creativity. These brands could sell shoes and electronics. But they tell stories about championing society. They do it through their products. So, how can you give your personal brand a magnetic story? One that customers invest in? First, identify your values, vision, and ideals. These drive it beyond profit. What impacts or changes do you want to make in society? Next, look at stories from your founding roots. Also, look at customer experiences that show those purposes in action. Personal anecdotes bring your brand storytelling to life. Finally, make storytelling a pillar of all your branding and marketing. Weave those stories throughout your content, visuals, and messaging. In the end, your products and services alone. They likely aren't unique enough to stand out. But communicating your brand's purposes and visions through compelling stories? That's how real differentiation is achieved. I'd love to hear about the stories shaping your brand's identity.

We grew by 57,000% in 3 years. Then we made a colossal mistake. Quest Nutrition exploded out of the gate. The company was born on the back of a mindset, and we wanted our customers to know that too. So we launched Quest Apparel, a lifestyle brand around the relentless pursuit of maximizing your human potential. Why haven’t you heard of it? Because we shut it down. It failed. Hard. What Quest meant to me as a founder wasn’t what it meant to the consumer. And only the consumer matters. It suddenly became clear to me that Quest launching a clothing company was like Quaker Oats launching a clothing company. You may love Quaker Oats, but do you want to wear an upscale $120 henley made by them? No. Here’s how you can be wise and learn from my mistakes… 1st: Establish Your Brand’s Core Identity. We tried to establish an aggressive, edgy vibe without considering the brand identity we’d already created in the mind of our consumer. Quest Nutrition is about healthy, delicious food. It was fun, playful, and inviting. Launching a sister brand that was aggressive and cool was a total mismatch. 2nd: Understand Your Audience. The influencers that promoted our brand were in shape, but the people actually buying our products were trying to get in shape. So clothing tailored for people with the perfect physique didn’t work. If we had launched an athleisure brand aimed at flattering people trying to improve their physique, we might have had a shot. 3rd: Create Straight Lines. Whenever you’re doing something new, ask, what’s the straight line between the marketing and the product? If you can’t see the straight line between the high performing piece of content and the product you plan to sell, odds are you should stop immediately as there’s no alignment with your current audience. That doesn’t mean you’re dead in the water, but it does mean that: 4th: If You Want To Change Lanes, Pave The New Lane First. As I would learn once again when I launched a comic book, brand goodwill doesn’t automatically transfer to new products. Just because people like my interviews, doesn’t mean they even read comic books, let alone like MY comic books. If you want to go into a new area, develop the new straight line. Start creating content that will build the audience that will buy the thing. Don’t go to all of the trouble of building the thing without knowing if you can create content that will attract the right audience. Content is MUCH easier to experiment with than products. If you get strong results with the content, then build the product. If you stay true to your brand’s core, understand your audience, create straight lines, and always build the audience before you create the product, you’ll be able to evolve your business. But if you don’t do that, you’re going to burn a lot of money. Take it from someone who’s burned millions so you don’t have to.

Niche > Mass Appeal Some of the most effective brand strategies right now are intentionally not chasing mass. They’re built to resonate deeply with small, highly tuned-in communities, and that’s exactly why they win. In beauty and retail, niche products succeed not because they’re everywhere, but because they connect on a deeper level, with clear values, authentic stories, and a shared culture. Here’s what I mean: Pleasing by Harry Styles, doesn’t try to appeal to everyone. It crafts a brand experience that speaks directly to a design-savvy, identity-conscious audience craving self-expression beyond traditional beauty norms. This deep cultural connection creates passionate loyalty. Youth To The People built a clean skincare line rooted in superfoods, science, and sustainability, values that resonate intensely with consumers who prioritize both effectiveness and ethics. It’s not just skincare; it’s a lifestyle choice that aligns with their worldview. Erewhon isn’t just a grocery store, it’s a lifestyle marker. That $20 smoothie isn’t just a product, it’s a statement: wellness, status, and cultural belonging all blended into one. These brands prove that focusing narrowly on a specific audience allows for stronger emotional engagement and cultural relevance. When you go narrow with intent, you build real traction, because specificity scales within the right circles. Mass attention is fleeting. Meaningful relevance endures. #BrandStrategy #NicheMarketing #BeautyTrends #ConsumerBehavior #RetailInnovation #MarketingStrategy

A client recently said, “Our pricing has always been our biggest advantage, but it’s no longer driving results. What happened?” Here’s the reality: The market shifted. Your customers changed. But your strategy? Stayed the same. We hit the reset button, redefined their approach, and made a few key changes and boom: engagement shot up, brand loyalty skyrocketed, and sales exceeded expectations. All without a single price drop. Here’s the truth: Competing solely on price leads to a dead end. To truly stand out, your brand must offer more than just affordability. It has to be unforgettable. I call this the “Magnetic Brand Strategy.” It’s about building a brand people choose, not for the price tag, but for the connection it sparks. Here’s how you can create a brand that pulls people in: 🔸 Create Surprise Moments • Add unexpected details or experiences that catch customers off guard in a positive way. • Whether it’s a surprise gift, a thank-you note, or an unexpected feature in your product, these moments create buzz. The Results: Surprise moments build excitement and make your brand memorable, encouraging word-of-mouth marketing. 🔸 Partner with Unexpected Brands • Look for opportunities to collaborate with brands outside your industry to create something unique and unexpected. • Think limited edition products, special promotions, or events that bring something new to the table. The Results: Unconventional partnerships introduce your brand to new audiences and keep your offerings fresh and exciting. 🔸 Hyper-Personalization is Key • Move beyond general customer segmentation. Offer tailor-made experiences or exclusive offers based on individual behaviors. • Personalized touches make customers feel recognized and valued. The Results: Hyper-personalization strengthens customer loyalty and creates a stronger emotional connection to your brand. 🔸 Turn Your Employees into Brand Ambassadors • Encourage your team to represent your brand online and offline, not just as employees, but as passionate advocates. • By sharing personal experiences and enthusiasm, your team humanizes your brand and extends its reach. The Results: Customers trust people more than brands, so turning your employees into advocates builds authenticity and trust. 🔸 Build a Sense of Belonging • Build online groups, host special events, or add interactive features to your website. • When customers feel like they belong, they’re more likely to stay loyal and recommend your brand to others. The Results: A community-centered brand encourages long-term loyalty and gives your customers a reason to advocate for you. The market doesn’t care about your price tag anymore. What they care about is how your brand makes them feel—and how it fits into their lives. What’s the one thing you’re doing today to make your brand unforgettable? ⸻ ♻️ REPOST if this resonated with you! ➡️ FOLLOW Rheanne Razo for more B2B growth strategies, client success, and real-world business insights.

There’s more than one way to cut through the competitive noise – but you need to pick a direction. The whole point of working on your positioning is to get clear about: ✅ Who you serve ✅ What value you deliver ✅ How it’s differentiated from the competition When you nail this, it allows your target customers to: 🧠 Understand how the value you deliver addresses their needs (JTBD) 🧠 Remember you among all the other options they’re considering Understanding the *direction* of your positioning is a critical part of this equation. It’s about understanding which elements of your market you’re building a reputation around. There are two core options: ↑ Vertical – focused on delivering value to specific industries / categories ↔️ Horizontal – focused on delivering a specific value set across industries / categories The main difference in the definitions above is which type of specificity you prioritize. Are you building a reputation around expertise in an industry or category? Or are you building a reputation through the value of a particular product, service, or demographic? There’s no right answer – there are pluses and minuses with both. Vertical positioning can make it easier to target customers and build deep expertise. …but you create some risk by being highly invested in one category. If that category has a downturn it's tough to escape. Horizontal positioning mitigates the risk of being tied to any particular industry. It opens up a wide range of opportunities and experiences. …but that wide reach combined with overly broad value makes it way more difficult to be noticed and remembered by any particular segment of customer. With the primary goal of setting your brand apart in some meaningful way, vertical positioning has some inherent advantages. The connection to an industry automatically sets you apart from many other competitors. But horizontal positioning can be just as effective as long as the value being offered is clear, specific, and differentiated. The death blow is when you don’t pick a lane. You’re not tied to any particular industry *AND* your value is universal. This is the classic trap of the brand that believes they’re for everyone…and ends up satisfying no one. Boiling the ocean. The key is to make those hard decisions. Pick a specific lane and *triple* down on it. There’s more than one way to cut through the noise…but if you don’t pick a direction you're starting with the dullest possible knife. For a great deep dive on this topic, check out last week's episode of the always entertaining 2 Bobs Podcast where David C. Baker does a great breakdown of these positioning options. 👏 #positioning #differentiation #brandstrategy