This year's most valuable skill?

This weekend I got an email from my goto business/tech/trends resource, The Hustle and there was an an interesting story (of course, there are always interesting stories, but this one was particularly interesting) that made me think of you.

It opens with some less than encouraging news:

Businesses today face more competition than ever. Five years ago, the typical business had just 2.6 competitors. Today? That number has almost quadrupled, to 9.7.

AWS, Shopify, and no-code significantly lowered the barrier to entry, which shifted the risk from, “Can I build this?” to “Will anyone care?”
So...yay, our job as business owners is even tougher than ever.

The solution? Well, the article say that it's "branding" but I gotta disagree with my respected resource...sort of.

While I don't think that branding is the answer, I do agree with a couple of the answers they call branding.

For starters, don't get too sucked into the "branding" thing.

This might ruffle feathers, especially for people who make their living as Brand Manager, but the word "branding" is sooooo nebulous.

• Some might say it's a business' image.
• Some might say it's the way it differentiates itself.
• Some will go on and on about logos and design.
• And some will talk about strategy and tactics.

They're probably all right to be perfectly honest, but for sake of how can you succeed in your business when your competition is huge and your audience's attention span is small, branding is about connecting with your potential purchasers so they CHOOSE YOU. Whatever it takes to do that, that's branding.

I told you it was tough to define.

The article gave four things to keep in mind when building your brand and I won't spoil the surprise in case you were interesting reading it along with the bevy of other juicy segments.

How about I give you the first two?

1. Tell a story. We've talked about this before and it's a fantastic way to hook up and get closer to your customer. This is your chance to talk about them. They are the hero in their own story and if you can show them how special they are, they'll keep coming back to you...wouldn't you?

1. Stand for something. I like this one because while you're focusing on THEM, they are focusing on you and when they see that you care deeply about something, you'll draw them in like me to a chocolate chip cookie (or cake, or a donut, etc).

This really is about what makes you different and how that difference relates to your perfect customer.

You don't want everyone to be your customer, as blasphemous as that sounds, it's true.

You want the people that love you and what you do and what you're about and what you represent to be your customer. THOSE people will love you and buy from you for life.

Your ACTION ITEM is to define your business. Why should I be drawn to you? If the answer is because you have warm cookies waiting for me...you're off to a very good start.

What does your perfect customer look like?

Have a great week!

PS, Let me know if you like The Hustle. If you do, then I know we're connecting.