Reilly Newman | Brand is not what you do. Brand is how you do it.
On a very fundamental level, what should refer to your business model. This is the way you trade a good or service for money.
Now we go to the deeper level of how. This is how you do that what. Here is where most businesses see brand start to influence the business model and add value to the experience of the trade.
How you do the what is at the core of where your brand is cultivated.
If you take a moment and notice that businesses who only focus on what they do typically lack any brand impact. They come across as just another commodity and neglect the overall experience that their audience may have with them. This of course leads to lost opportunities for creating a stronger audience as well as inevitable growth that comes with a brand.
A brand really isn’t about what you do, but how you do it.
Not being anchored by the what allows the brand to grow and expand beyond just the deliverable. To ultimately, increase value beyond just the what and warrant a more profitable overall experience that benefits the customer as well as the team and business providing the product or service.
Yes, your service or product does say a little about you to your audience to a very small degree. However, the way you deliver this and why you provide it delivers far more depth, value, and magic to your audience.
Think about hotels. From premium hotels to very cheap motels, they essentially sell the same “what”(a bed to sleep in) — however how they do so is very different. The how is one of the main indicators of exactly why they are selling what they sell. One is selling an accessible room that is very economical and lacks bells and whistles. The other is selling a spa-like experience, an atmosphere of rejuvenation and stress-free relaxation to keep you fresh for that family vacation or business meeting. One is completely focused on selling the what while the premium is focused on selling the how — which naturally delivers more value to their audience since they are not targeting the economical traveler.
Focus on your how and your brand will be established and effective. More importantly, your audience will benefit from this focus and be willing to reward you more for providing a more valuable and appreciated product or service.
