It is easy as an entrepreneur to feel like the underdog in comparison to your corporate competition. Large corporations have marketing budgets, social media teams, and a full staff dedicated to getting their message out there. You on the other hand- have you.
It is easy to downplay your skills when you are a team of one, yet it is your lack of old industry, corporate standard ways that can actually make your work more revolutionary, influential, and desired. So though it is easy to feel defeated before you ever get started, the truth is that you have a huge advantage over your corporate competition – you.
Don’t believe me- here are three ways your brand wins over the “big guy.”
1. You.
At its rawest form, a brand is a human personality. That is actually how the field of branding originated. Crafting human personality personas for inanimate products like Coca-Cola vs Pepsi.
Well, you are already one step ahead of the corporate giants because you already have a human personality.
And what really is a human personality with regards to a brand? It’s about knowing what you stand for, believe in, love, like, and never would want to be around.
You already know all this about yourself.
You know what you like and don’t like. You know what matters to you. You know why your work matters, what makes you passionate, what excites you and you know what really works for your clients.
You don’t need to have countless meetings to decide on what the wording of a particular offer may be. You have you.
So yes, your brand is a deeply personal experience. Be clear about who you are, what your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings are. Because by better understanding who you are, your brand message and nonverbal communication will become more concise and more attractive to your audience. Which are all very good things.
2. Speed.
The snail pace of corporate is your brand’s advantage. Society is evolving at a faster and faster pace. Twenty years ago corporations would “rebrand” their message and visuals every 6-8 years to match the cultural shifts. Today society is evolving at a 4-6 month evolutionary pace.
This means that statistics don’t matter like they use to. And messaging that was created three months ago, won’t convert the same today. The “Rewind and repeat” methods of selling and launching don’t work anymore. While corporations are still having meetings about such topics, you can take action and take back the marketplace.
Plus as a small business, you can make this evolution organic within your brand because you know who you are and in turn, it is clear what move to make be it a shift in marketing, product launch, or repackaging. So use you to your brand’s advantage.
3. Relationships.
No matter what you sell, you are selling to human beings. Human beings are hardwired for connection both biologically as well as psychologically. So give your audience what they really want – a relationship with you through your brand. Even though all of the people in your audience may not be your ideal bestie, you can create a connection with every single one of them no matter the size.
And just like in your “real” relationships make sure that your brand relationships are well rounded with your staff, audience, and independent contractors. Care about more than just the transaction. Connect online and offline. Be HUMAN.
In business, it is easy to forget that in the end, we are only dealing with other fellow human beings. And it is in this simple fact alone that great connections lie and our strengths live. You make your brand relatable to others. People want to be around you. They want to do business with you. YOU! Not a large inanimate, robotic, system following corporation. Your audience wants you.
In short, the secret weapon all small businesses have against their corporate competition is YOU.
So for you to win and beat your corporate competition, you must take care of you. You must be clear about who you are and what you are about. You must be brave enough to show up fully each and every time. Do this and you will be miles ahead of your corporate competitors.
