Over the past 18+ months my team has been working on a deep dive of branding, and specifically positioning of a brand for our flagship product line. This has been an exciting, although at times trying, adventure for us. This introspective focus on who we are as a brand, product and ultimately company has definitely opened our eyes. Opened them to some harsh realities but more importantly to amazing opportunities. And it has shown us how important focus (and sacrifice) are to success. Through this process the realization that you cannot be – nor should you want to be – everything to everybody has never been more apparent.

However, aside from all of the internal realizations and epiphanies that have come from this project there has also been a realization about the marketing industry as a whole – or at least it seems like as a whole. My organization is a manufacturing organization, so our marketing resources are limited.  I have an amazing team within that organization that is incredibly creative and has a vast array of marketing talents, but we are a small team and wanted some outside help and perspective. The task of (re)defining the brand, of really starting to define our consumer audience, of finding and telling our unique story and message, of starting to act like the industry leader rather than a humble competitor seemed so daunting. We didn’t know where to start or what the path (or even destination) was going to look like. We thought for sure there was an agency or team out there what could and would help us.

Guess not.

We worked with several agencies over the course of this project and while each did provide some good perspectives and valuable insights none really helped us to navigate this journey. It seemed that each had their recipe for branding. Their set process and protocol that they followed. And none of those really seemed to fit our needs or situation. Rather than looking at the company, the brand, and the product and then working on a solution uniquely tailored to us each wanted to reshape us to fit their mold. They wanted to broad brush everything to “reach the masses” while still touting the need for distinctiveness and targeted segmentation. They wanted to jump to overarching campaigns and promotions before really digging deep in the mud to find out what made the products unique, what made the consumers tick, and what made the industry so fragmented. They wanted to make us like the high-end jewelry and luxury car brands rather that discovering what our unique position could be. They wanted to take a one size fits all approach, and I couldn’t believe it.

This is our brand we were talking about. What we were trying to tackle was the foundation for everything that my team (with or without outside vendors) will do for the next 1-, 5-, 10-, 15-years. Maybe even longer if we get it right. This is what was going to set us apart in the market – define why were were the market leader, justify why our products were more expensive (quality isn’t cheap). Our competitors were already trying to copying and knock off all of our other efforts; we were looking to define ourselves in a way they couldn’t just copy. Beyond just marketing, this project – the definition of who the brand is to consumers and the market – would guide conversations throughout the organization. From product development to customer service, sales to operations, quality control to logistics, once we were able to clearly and concisely define who we were we’d be able to know where we could and wanted to go. This was important stuff! And it felt like everyone wanted to hit the easy button. Cue the overwhelming frustration.

It baffled me that no one seemed to get it. Or that they appeared to get it in the beginning but then always seem to end the same. We would spend weeks and months working together, seemingly making progress and on the same page, only to end up with seemingly generic brand definitions and proposals for future SOWs focused on creative campaigns and promotions. We were starting to think that it was us – we were the problem. We were expecting too much. What we wanted to accomplish wasn’t the right path, or wasn’t possible. And then we said to ourselves, “Screw that.” Maybe it wasn’t the norm. Maybe it wasn’t the way things were done or didn’t follow best practices, but it was in fact the right path. And it was possible. So if we couldn’t find someone to help us figure it out we’d just do it ourselves. Sure we would (did, and still are) make mistakes along the way but we could continue to push forward. We would take ideas and suggestions from a variety of sources and process and meld them together. We would read, listen and absorb as many outside resources as we could get our hands our to give us guidance. And then…we would do original work. We would blaze our own path and make our own way, because this wasn’t something that we were willing to sacrifice or compromise on. It was just too important. [More posts to come on how we went about things and how things are going later].

And you shouldn’t compromise either. When it comes to your brand, your marketing, and your products there is no existing recipe for discovering that message and story. The best you can do is try to learn from those around you. Take bits and pieces from all the sources that you can and then tailor it to your specific needs. Your market, your industry, your customers, your products, and everything about you is unique so why try to follow the same path as any other company. Yes, use their experiences and learn from them. But make sure that you adapt – that is what will make you stand apart and be successful.