5 empirical strategies to make your brand stand out from the noise

When creating a brand from scratch, the need to have arecognizable and distinctidentity can be overwhelming. It is necessary not only to establish the visual language of the brand, but also to differentiate it from so many other brands in the marketplace. With so much competition, it can be difficult for any brand to make its mark. 

However, with strategic planning and well-thought-out thinking, you can create an effective strategy to stand out in today's saturated marketplace. Fortunately, there are several practical strategies you can use to make your brand identifiable without going overboard or being too abrasive.

We have chosen 5 for you, the same ones that we ourselves apply to our clients.

Be bold, original, but not polarizing

If you are starting a new brand, sometimes the best way to stand out is to be bold and original. But with brains. 

Originality is not something to shy away from. On the contrary, it is an opportunity. If you want to take advantage of it successfully, first make sure that your products or services are of high quality. Incredible as it sounds, most products or services are mediocre, and being original starts exactly with the constant pursuit of excellence.

This is followed, of course, by finding one's own character and tone of voice. Without fear of appearing different from other brands. It is this natural diversity of ours, as long as it is correlated with the pursuit of quality, that creates true brand distinction. The strategy also applies to the way people use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram; those who post quality, valuable and unique content in a massified, "me-too" market are more likely to attract followers than those who post generic, block-created posts.

In a world increasingly divided into niches, it is also important to be bold and original without being polarizing. That is, divisive. Indeed, the original sin of contemporary marketing is its absurd ability to appeal a message to ever smaller (but extreme) groups of fans and potential customers. Nothing could be more wrong. 

We need a very wide audience to sell our services. Not a niche!

Always be evolving

In today's fast-paced and instantaneous marketplace, it has become imperative for brands to be constantly evolving. This means that the implementation of the strategy behind your brand must change with the times and adapt to the way people use the media. 

To stay relevant, you have to constantly vary the operational elements of the brand, whether it is content, design, marketing tactics or even products. This means you may have to take some risks in what works best for your company. You may have to try a new writing style or differences on the offering that resonate with your target audience.

Warning: this rule does not apply to the brand, the visual brandbook, the brand "bible." That one must remain unchanged potentially for decades in order to be memorable!

Speaking to the needs of your audience

To differentiate yourself, focus on the needs DEEP NEEDS of your customers. 

If you know what your audience is looking for, you will find it easier to create a brand that resonates with them and stands out in their minds. By understanding what your audience's values and interests are, you can develop products that perfectly match their needs. 

This could mean creating a product line specifically designed for different groups of people (expanding the range) or rather designing products based on market trends (deepening the range). With the right information and resources, you can take your brand to new levels by responding to customer needs. 

Remember the value of emotions. When people feel emotions as they interact with your brand or read/hear/speak about it, they feel part of something bigger than themselves. This is why storytelling has been such a powerful tool since the advent of marketing in the 20th century: it creates emotional connections and builds trust between brands and consumers. 

In this way it is easy for people to identify with brands. Because they have common interests or experiences that unite them through an emotional bond. 

Don't forget the basics

To establish your corporate identity and stand out from the crowd, you need to focus on the basics. Nowadays, people will not pay attention to your brand if it does not meet three basic criteria for success: quality, price and service. 

One mistake we often see in new brands and start-ups is the perceptual bias that leads entrepreneurs to choose a price that is too high (even higher than category leaders!), with no demonstrated quality and clearly not being able to provide a comparable level of service to those who have been in the same market for years. This is not acceptable. And it inevitably leads to announced destruction.

First you demonstrate quality and first you adjust the service, and then you adjust the price to market standards.

You need to take care of your customer base, making sure they are satisfied with what they are getting for their money. It is important that whatever you create or produce has a clear value proposition worth investing in.

Continue to work on incremental improvements

One of the easiest things to do is to identify brand strengths and focus on those. Improving them a little at a time.

An excellent example is a brand like Apple. No matter what it sells, people know that it produces interesting technological innovations and strives for excellence in every product it releases. One piece at a time. 

People know that Apple tomorrow will be better than today. 

These are the aspects Apple focuses on to distinguish itself from other companies in the market, using its immense economic capital for incremental product improvement and marketing capable of promoting its strengths distinct from its competitors. It focuses on what makes it unique and qualitatively excellent in a steady path, making sure that its identity is clearly established and the product level is clearly high before proceeding with any new initiative or advertising campaign.