Finding your Brand… Identifying your Identity

Allan Goldner

Once upon a time, in the little hamlet of Vegas, there lived an entrepreneur who began a business.  She sold Gizmos.  Anything you wanted to know about Gizmos, you only needed to ask her. Long before she came to this little hamlet, she sold Gizmos in another hamlet called LA-LA Land. She did very well there for many years.  But now, everything was different. Nobody knew her here. She loved selling Gizmos and wanted to make her business stand apart from all of the other businesses that also sold Gizmos. Over and over she pondered, “How will someone in Vegas know that it’s better to buy a Gizmo from me?”  She sold the Gizmos at similar prices. She stood behind her Gizmos, and the few customers that she had were very happy.  Still, she knew that she just couldn’t wait around for her business to grow.  Somehow, she must find the puzzling secret that would make her business a preferred choice for Gizmos enthusiasts.

One day, while she was waiting for her phone to ring, there appeared a mysterious stranger.  At first she was alarmed.  Was this stranger here to sell her something?  But after a few moments of conversation, she was relieved to learn that the stranger was here to help. Are you a wizard, she asked. “Yes”, the stranger answered, “but only in the arts of consultation.”

The stranger knew next to nothing about Gizmos, but seemed to know a lot about business.  Apparently, this experience could help her sell more Gizmos.   The entrepreneur and the stranger talked and talked.  The stranger eagerly listened to her stories about how she helped her customers get the most from their Gizmos, because she knew so much about them.  She can make the Gizmos keep running smoothly and she was always available for her customers if something went wrong.  She told him about how long she had been around Gizmos and how much she enjoyed the Gizmo business. 

After a time, the stranger began to speak.  “What you need is a brand.  A brand is something that clearly identifies your company as the best choice to buy Gizmos”.  “Yes”, she said, “That’s it. That’s what I thought too”!  “But what is my brand? What makes me different? How can I promote my business differently from the other business selling Gizmos”?  The stranger smiled and asked, “What is the difference between your Gizmos and theirs”?  She thought a while and sadly replied, “None. A Gizmo is a Gizmo”.  Ah, the stranger answered, “So why should they buy the Gizmo from you”?  Again she thought and after a long while she felt frustrated and blurted out, “I don’t know except, I love Gizmos. I always have. I know more about them then anyone!  After all these years of working with them, I’m a Gizmo expert”!  Then suddenly, she got quiet for a moment, and understanding came into her eyes, “It’s me! I’m the difference. I’m the brand!”  The stranger nodded approvingly and said, “When you’re selling the same Gizmos as everyone else, then you must be the brand”. 

The stranger vanished as quickly as he had appeared, and the entrepreneur set about putting together a plan and a budget to promote her new brand.   In a short time, the whole village knew about the Gizmo expert who was now selling Gizmos in the hamlet of Vegas.  It wasn’t long before everyone knew just where to go when they needed to buy a Gizmo.  As for the mysterious wizard, he was already helping the next entrepreneur.