April 22, 2025 • 36 mins
Reid Holmes, author of "Appreciated Branding," reveals how to transform your brand from ignored to irreplaceable by focusing on emotional connections rather than traditional USPs (unique selling propositions).
• Proving to customers that you care about them is more effective than paying to make them care about you
• Traditional USPs fail in today's saturated markets where rational differentiators have minimal impact
• The "unique emotional solution" identifies tensions customers experience and positions your brand as the remedy
• Success stories like Ariel's "Share the Load" campaign in India that increased sales by 76% by addressing cultural tensions
• Small businesses can achieve better results with appreciated branding than with expensive advertising campaigns
• Finding your "one word" brand focus creates clarity and consistency across all customer touchpoints
• Avoiding the "plateau of indifference" by creating genuine value customers actually thank you for
• Values-based targeting connects with people based on shared beliefs rather than demographic data
• Focus on helping customers become better versions of themselves within your category
Find more about Reid's work in his book "Appreciated Branding: Transform your Brand from Ignored to Irreplaceable" or download a free chapter at reidholmes.com.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Reid (00:00):
Marketers spend millions and business owners spend
millions to convince people tocare about them, because they're
only talking about theirproduct or what their product is
or what it does.
The way things have shifted isyou need to prove to your
customers that you care aboutthem, not pay to get them to
(00:20):
care about you to get them tocare about you.
Alyssa (00:24):
Welcome to Brilliant Ideas, the podcast that takes
you behind the scenes of some ofthe most inspiring digital
products created by solopreneursjust like you.
I'm your host, alyssa, adigital product strategist who
helps subject matter expertsgrow their business with online
courses, memberships, coachingprograms and eBooks.
If you're a solopreneur withdreams of packaging your
expertise into a profitabledigital product, then this is
(00:45):
the podcast for you.
Expect honest conversations ofhow they started, the obstacles
they overcame, lessons learnedthe hard way, and who face the
same fears, doubts andchallenges you're experiencing,
from unexpected surprises tobreakthrough moments and
everything in between.
Tune in, get inspired and let'sspark your next big, brilliant
idea.
Welcome back to the BrilliantIdeas Podcast.
(01:06):
Joining me today is Reid Holmes.
He is the author of the numberone bestselling book,
appreciated Branding Transformyour Brand from Ignorant to
Irreplaceable.
It has become the go-toplaybook for any business
looking to stand out in acrowded market.
If you're ready to learn whyyour unique selling proposition
may not be working or how todrive huge marketing results
without a big budget, thisepisode is for you.
Let's dive right in.
(01:27):
Welcome to the show, reid.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Reid (01:32):
Thanks for having me.
I'm excited.
Alyssa (01:34):
Me too.
Now, in your book, youmentioned something about the
attention as being the oxygen ofmarketing, and up until this
point, our understanding ofgetting attention from our
customers stems from being clearabout our unique selling
proposition, and for decades,that single differentiating
statement was enough to drivesales.
But in today's hyper saturatedmarket, where people want a
(01:57):
deeper emotional connection,they want more authentic
experiences with their brands,or buying from it might not cut
it anymore, and so this raises acrucial, crucial question that
I am even so curious about whydo you think that the unique
selling proposition isineffective or even outdated?
Reid (02:17):
There's a few different ways to answer that, a few
different things that I think gointo that.
First of all, when RosserReeves invented what he calls
the unique selling proposition,it was back in an era where
product categories weren't sosaturated with options and I say
this as part of one of my talksis go stand in the laundry
(02:42):
detergent aisle at any big boxstore and you'll see at least 30
different brands that all solvethe same problem.
How can each of them berationally unique?
Whiter whites, three shadeswhiter whites, three shades
whiter whites, with perfume thatyou like to smell?
I mean, at what point does itjust become too much for people
(03:05):
to deal with?
So, or to process?
Because that's the other thingthat makes the unique selling
proposition somewhat obsolete,particularly in crowded
categories.
We are all getting hit with10,000 messages a day, 10,000
interruptions.
How do we know what to payattention to?
It certainly isn't going to besome product that says you know,
(03:30):
now, with flavor crystals orwhatever.
It's just, it's just not.
It's not a way to differentiateyourself anymore in a more in
the most effective andbreakthrough way possible.
And so that's another reasonwhy I think the unique selling
proposition is is becomeobsolete.
It's not totally obsolete.
There are products that arerationally different and usually
(03:54):
they're newer products thatcreate new categories, like Uber
, for example.
Now, I get that.
I get the rational benefit ofthat of Uber making you know,
kind of democratizing theability to get a ride, and I get
that that's newsworthy.
(04:15):
But when you don't have newslike a new product or you don't
have the money to invest on anentirely new product, you need
something I call the uniqueappreciatable solution.
I call it in the book theunique emotional solution.
They're interchangeable, butthe idea basically is how are
(04:42):
you helping me with your?
So, as an example, a mentor ofmine and I've mentioned this
before too, but it's veryapplicable here A mentor of mine
talks about how he had a clientwho was a tennis pro and this
guy kept saying I got tennis,tennis lessons, who needs tennis
(05:04):
lessons?
And nobody really cared.
And my argument is he couldeven be saying you know, if you
have a weak forehand, I'm yourtennis guy because that's my
area of expertise and you mightget a few more.
You know, I don't know ifyou're going to blow it up what
he decided is he realized thatadjacent to tennis are a
(05:28):
population of people, um,parents whose kids are running
them ragged, and so hisproposition was who's got?
Who's got kids that you'd liketo learn a lifelong skill?
I'll take them out onto atennis court and tire them out
for an hour and you guys get abreak.
(05:48):
All of a sudden, his businessexploded because of that unique,
appreciable solution.
Suddenly it's like oh yeah,that's a help to me that I get,
and so that's what I'm talkingabout.
Is it's not about the rationaldifferentiator, particularly in
these crowded categories,because there's just too much
crap for people to think aboutIf the way they're going to pay
(06:11):
attention to is if you solve aproblem, if you go oh, that's a
problem I need to solve rightnow.
Okay, yeah, I need that.
So that's kind of what I'mtalking about.
Alyssa (06:20):
Okay, so then your unique emotion solution.
So how can a brand or abusiness start the process of
finding out what they couldsolve that invokes like that
kind of emotion, like thattennis pro who now offered
parents and kids you know, tirethem out, like how could they
(06:43):
start the process of figuringthat out for their own business?
Reid (06:47):
most of the time it starts with a, an interesting cultural
data point.
Um, but it but it doesn't haveto.
So if you look at your category, or even your product, and you
think about the, the, where itsits and what things are
adjacent to it, um, anotherexample I use is the laundry
(07:10):
example, uh, which is in my book, but um, you know, the.
There are two brands in that goto head to head, head to head
in um india.
One is called aerial and one iscalled surf, and their laundry
detergents, laundry powders, andevery I don't know probably
(07:32):
every quarter there, one or theother is spending millions to
try and get some little right ofthe decimal point growth, share
, growth.
So at one point back in thiswas 2017, and this is one of the
cases that really animated meabout this idea of appreciated
branding.
Ariel realized that they foundthis data point that 95 of the
(07:57):
people in india still thoughtlaundry was a woman's job, and,
well, there's a tension thatneeds relief, and that's another
ingredient of this is like isthere an existing tension that
you can help relieve?
For tennis, it was.
My kids are driving me nuts.
For this particular example,it's.
(08:20):
Why do I have to do the laundryall the time.
Why can't anybody else help?
And the brand decided to stepinto the fray and say you know
what we can help with that?
We're going to use our voice toadvocate for others in the
family.
And the campaign was calledShare the Load and it was
hashtag Share the Load.
They did this and theybasically got thanked by their
(08:43):
best customers for doing it, tothe tune of an increase of 76%
in sales.
Now, you don't get that fromjust promotional marketing.
You don't get that from just apromotional ad.
You have to find a way toreally help proactively and then
you get thanked.
And that's why they call, orI've called.
(09:06):
Money is kind of just anotherthank you note.
Alyssa (09:09):
It is.
Yeah, this is interesting, thisexisting tension.
That's a key word here, and youdive into this idea of
appreciated branding in yourbook and, from what I gather,
it's shifting from this idea ofjust.
You know, any promotional adcan say, like, buy my stuff.
Today, you know that mindsetthat you know, buy my stuff,
here it is, but that's notreally enough anymore and what
(09:35):
you actually want to do is youwant to build a brand or a
business where people appreciateand that's exactly what you had
shared with the laundrydetergent, and so what I'm
thinking about it is like, onceyou do that, once you find that
existing tension, that whenpeople think about your product,
they're not just rememberingthat it's okay, laundry
(09:58):
detergent, but you're, it's,that's how also they, how you,
how they feel after from youknow, oh, like they're sharing
the load.
It's not just a women's job, andso that's interesting, um, and
this is actually very realisticfor business owners, I think,
who are likely to have a lot ofsuccess with appreciated
(10:19):
branding.
I want you to go more into moredetail about this and just
really simplify it, um, and whatit is and what it does, because
I think that small businessowners are going to have a lot
of success with this, becausethey can curate a very loyal fan
base from, you know, doingsomething different with their
marketing, and a lot of smallbusiness owners do not have a
(10:40):
big budget to spend on marketing, so this might actually be a
good perspective and a goodmethod for getting out to the
right kinds of people.
And so how can you or how canthey see results without
throwing money on ads or havingto spend a bigger budget with a
that a lot of these solopreneursjust don't have?
Reid (11:00):
Well, you need to find that tension point.
So I'm actually speaking to abunch of chiropractors tomorrow
and I was just looking atchiropractor sites and the way
that they're so OK, let me backup one step here.
(11:22):
Marketers spend millions andbusiness owners spend millions
to convince people to care aboutthem, because they're only
talking about their product orwhat their product is or what it
does.
The way things have shifted isyou need to prove to your
customers that you care aboutthem, not pay to get them to
(11:44):
care about you your customers,that you care about them, not
pay to get them to care aboutyou, because when you're paying
to get them to care about you,there's no emotional connection
there.
There's no.
It's all about the product andnot whip um kind of example.
(12:09):
So deluxe check is a company inthe twin cities where I am and
they have.
They've been known for decadesas as basically making checks
for people home.
You know, checks for yourchecking account, checks for
business checks, checks, checkchecks and they have been
depositioned and de-cared aboutbecause electronic financial
(12:36):
transactions have become thenorm, so a lot of most people
don't need checks anymore.
The ones that do still use themare dying off and god love them
, uh, or they're in front of meat costco, which happens,
although costco banned checks,um, but um, the point is that,
(12:57):
um, what, what deluxe did?
And I talked to amanda brmanshe's the one that was the chief
marketing officer there.
She said we were being outspent11 to 1 by all these other
companies that are offeringoffering full suites of business
services for people who havesmall businesses.
(13:18):
Did, is they decided what we'regoing to do?
Is we're going to do?
We're going to have a?
Um, um, well, they call it themain street revolution, small
business revolution, and theythey basically had towns compete
for a fifty thousand dollargrant to for for the main street
businesses, and when that grantwas awarded, they made a big
(13:44):
splash video and whatever.
And then they brought in Amandaactually went in and was one of
the people in what became abouta six to eight episode series,
and they would go into thesesmall businesses and they would
help those small businesseslearn how to grow.
What should their website bedoing?
(14:05):
You know how can they becapturing more customers?
Uh, what?
What kind of?
Um, you know kind of mainstreet events could they plan
with other business owners totry and drive more traffic?
All of these things became thisshow called small business
revolution and the the people onthat main street, the people
(14:26):
who were small business ownersof which obviously there are
millions watched that showbecause they were getting
utility from it.
They had questions and no onewas giving them the answers,
except these guys stepped in andsaid here's how your site
should work, here's how to getmore profit from this or
(14:47):
whatever.
That show went on for sixseasons.
It was nominated for an Emmyand, according to Amanda, their
performance, marketing okay, themoney, the marketing.
They spend money on direct mail, paid advertising.
The results went up like 10xbecause people recognize oh, I
(15:08):
know that logo.
They're not the old deluxe fromyears ago.
They're helping me out and thismight be something that fits in
with other ways.
They've been trying to help meand so that's one way you do it.
To get more granular on yourquestion, which was you know how
, how can a small business dothat?
(15:29):
Well, first I'd suggestwatching that series.
I think it's still out there.
It's probably on YouTube.
But in addition to that, what isyour main message on your
website when you, when peopleland?
What reason are you giving forthem to care about you?
Is it?
Sign up today and save money.
You might catch a few fish, butyou're not going to
(15:52):
differentiate yourself andyou're racing to the bottom.
Branding is not about pricecutting, building up value so
that you can command healthiermargins in exchange for
confidence, trust, know-how,knowledge, all of those things.
(16:14):
So if you're trading only onprice, you're never going to
grow and become and I meanfinancially with people who
believe in what you stand for.
So you have to stand forsomething, and when I talk about
these chiropractors, you know.
One of the things I want to talkto them about is what?
(16:34):
Why did you get into thisbusiness?
What?
What are your values?
That's a better place to start.
There's a whole other scienceof targeting that's kind of
coming along here in the lastthree or four years and it's
called values-based targeting.
And instead of saying, well, Iwant to talk to Generation Z
(16:57):
about my Patagonia jacket orwhatever values targeting is, I
want to talk to a cohort ofpeople who love adventure.
Those are the people who'dprobably want to buy one of my
jackets and they're notnecessarily as price sensitive
because they want somethingthat's going to help them live
that type of life.
(17:17):
So what are you doing?
I guess the other question iswhat are you really selling?
And it isn't a rationalsolution, particularly in
crowded categories.
It's usually something that hasan emotional underpinning of
tension to it that someone goesoh, finally someone recognized.
It's a lot like I'm kind ofgoing off here alissa's oh good,
(17:39):
you buy the ticket, you get theride right, so, um, so, uh, you
know the, the point being that,um, if you, if you find
something in the ether, inculture, in society, that that
has that tension that has notbeen addressed, and you come
(18:01):
along to solve it, you are goingto leapfrog because people are
going to go.
I mean, it's kind of like ajoke, right?
I talk about this in my booktoo.
Is comedy, comedy is just truththat no one else has recognized
, right?
So?
And the reason it's truth isbecause it's recognized and
(18:22):
processed and it's involuntary.
You can't, if you findsomething funny, you will
involuntary.
You can't.
If you find something funny,you will laugh at it.
You can't, you can't justdecide to laugh, you know.
And it's the other thing, likeif if I used to tell my creative
teams if you have to tell mesomething's a joke, it's not
funny, it has to evoke that,that, that that response that is
(18:42):
uncontrolled.
It just kind of happens thatway.
That's the kind of thing you'regoing for.
What is that thing in life andin the world that you can help
with?
You know, the bigger thing fora chiropractor might.
I don't even know what it wouldbe, I've only started thinking
about it, but there's probablysomething in the, in the, in the
(19:04):
tension of needing chiropracticservices, that you could uh
leverage.
That will make you stand outamong the litany of other
chiropractors who are alltrained the same way.
They all know the same things.
They all you know will give youthe adjustment, um, but what is
it they really believe in?
(19:25):
Maybe one chiropractor reallybelieves in a very ethereal kind
of.
You know, they make the wholeexperience of getting your
adjustment.
They put some kind of aroma inthe room.
They have white sheets hangingeverywhere.
They make it feel relaxing andfeeling.
You know, how are youdifferentiating yourself?
(19:47):
Because oftentimes it's notjust what you say but it does
have to come from what you do.
You know, if you got into acertain business because you had
a deep seated desire to helppeople do X, how are you living
that out?
What are you doing to helpsolve that bigger problem for
(20:07):
them?
Alyssa (20:08):
No, that's really helpful.
It really shows a different anda fresh perspective.
And also, like, when we thinkabout it, when we're making
decisions about who to buy from,95% is subconscious emotions,
and so we're not really thinkinglogically.
When we're looking at something, we're we're going by our gut
reaction of like what we feel,yeah, yeah, so, and so this kind
(20:31):
of goes on to my next questionabout the plateau of
indifference.
So what I understand a plateauof indifference is that you're
in this weird space where yourbrand is just simply existing
without kind of sparking anykind of reaction from your
audience and let me know if I'mwrong about this, but I would
imagine like nobody kind ofwants to be in this space where
(20:51):
you're kind of forgotten about,like you're just, you just exist
, but you're not, no one isreally looking at you or you're
not really in the spotlight.
And so for me I'm, you know,for my audience and for my
listeners, I'm sure would you beable to share some strategies
on how to avoid this plateau ofindifference where you kind of
(21:12):
slip between the cracks, you'renot really, you know, making an
impact, doing those things thatyou talk about, that you talked
about in your, in your justpreviously.
How can we avoid that?
Reid (21:27):
didn't just previously.
How can we avoid that?
Yeah, so the plateau ofindifference is a place that I
defined in my book, and it'smore mature brands or mature
categories end up there, andthere's a reason why global ad
spending is projected to passthe $1 trillion mark in this
next year or year and a half, Ithink and the reason is because,
(21:48):
when all you have is a hammer,every problem looks like a nail.
I know that's a cliche andeverybody says that, but,
marketing directors, it's sohard to keep up with everything.
It's so hard to keep up withhow things are changing.
Keep up with how things arechanging.
All the digital tools, all theretargeting, all the AI-driven
messaging and auto whatever.
(22:10):
It's becoming less and lesspersonal, even though the
phrasing is personalizedbranding, it's out of control
and you don't need to spend aton of money.
In fact, I would argue that ifyou want to get off the plateau
of indifference, you need tofind a way to talk about
(22:35):
yourself.
That's just different, andthat's what I help people do,
and that's the thing, becauseone of the things I talk about
and this relates to the plateauof indifference in a world where
you're getting hit with 10,000messages a day there are
messages that are gettingthrough, and guess what those
ones are?
They're the ones that youalready care about.
(22:58):
They are on topics that you arealready tuned into.
I call it a mental radiostation.
If you have kids and someonesays I've got tennis lessons,
that's not going to, it's notgoing to come on through that
channel.
But if you say, if you havekids and they're driving you
(23:18):
nuts, okay, now, now I'mlistening.
Now I want to hear what youhave to say, because I identify
with that problem.
So help me identify with howyou can make my life better is
really the way to get off theplateau of indifference.
It's not spend more money andinterrupt me in more places and
obnoxiously track me everywhereon the Internet.
(23:40):
That's not.
That's not how you get off thatplateau.
In fact, in many ways thatexacerbates the problem.
I have an example.
I once searched for a canoepaddle and, um, I got hit with
canoe paddle ads everywhere Iturned and I was just like what
(24:01):
if I already bought one?
Or what if?
Uh, you know, I just happenedto errantly search canoe paddle
when I met canal or something inmy newsletter about this.
Don't personalize me based onwhat could have been a fat
(24:31):
finger input or could have beensomething I've already purchased
.
If I'm looking for a canoepaddle, help me be a better
canoer.
Help me find ways to providecontent for me, to help me learn
the difference between a woodenpaddle and a plastic paddle.
Help me understand.
You know where I can getinformation about when certain
rivers are cresting and aresafer to canoe, or when they
(24:53):
want, when I you know I want.
Help me understand.
Help me be a better canoer,instead of just trying to find
me everywhere I go to sell me acanoe paddle that is appreciated
branding.
Now you've got my attention forsomething that you've been
kindly helping me with and I'mmuch more predisposed to want to
give you my money becauseyou've been generous, you've
(25:15):
been helpful.
That's just the way humans work.
It just has to carry over towhat you'd call marketing, but
it's really just being a goodhuman being.
Alyssa (25:26):
Wow, that's a really good take on it.
I'm not thinking this for mybusiness as well.
This is a good lesson for metoo, and so do you find that
I'll give you my Venmo you canyeah, and do you find that
people know that they're in thatplateau of indifference, like,
do brands know this, or is itsomething that you have to point
out for them?
Reid (25:46):
If people are thanking you for your product and your
efforts and your service and howyou deliver it, you're probably
not on the plateau ofindifference.
If no one's thanking you, andif you have to discount with
price or find other ways to getpeople to care about you, you're
probably on the plateau ofindifference.
(26:07):
If you're a marketing directorand you're going, I just can't
break through.
I got to go, I got it.
I got to either do somethingreally crazy creatively that
makes people pay attention to myad, or I got to go talk to my
CEO and CFO and get more moneybecause I just don't have the
share of voice that's getting methe traction I need.
It's not about that anymore.
(26:30):
It just isn't.
You've got to find ways to begenerous and kind and it's
cheaper.
You don't have to open a newplant.
You don't have to.
You know kind of create somenew whizzy-doos it product.
You know, one of the jokes Ihave in my book is you know the
ur problem.
So now it's um cheesier.
(26:52):
You know, now doritos arecheesier.
I knew they were were holdingout, I knew it.
I knew there was a potentialfor more cheese and they just
never did it.
I mean, these are things thatjust no one's sitting there
going.
You know, these Doritos aregood, but I wish they were
cheesier.
You know, what do people want?
What problems do they need tohave solved?
That you can help solve.
(27:14):
And and oftentimes in majorproducts like those things,
those consumer packaged goods itstarts with entertainment.
It starts with getting thatresponse that you're being
thanked for how you talk to them, for how you sell to them.
(27:37):
Progressive is a great example.
I would bet Progressive hasovertaken Geico in terms of
favorability because their,their work is so entertaining
and I thank them for that.
You know, I look at a Geicospot and unfortunately they have
really slid over the last fewyears and I don't feel that
gratitude, that thatappreciation for that 30 seconds
(27:59):
that they just interrupted mewith.
But when the guy says, you know, don't become the parents or
your I can't remember the phrase, but it's like you know, don't
become your parents or whatever.
And you know, I just saw onethe other day with these dudes
in the backyard with their fireand there's one guy tries to
build a fire and the other guy'slike oh, it's not a good start,
(28:19):
it's just funny andentertaining.
And when you're talking aboutmass brands like that.
That's one way to getappreciated.
But when you're talking about asmaller business, provide some
utility.
Find a way to help make peoplebetter versions of themselves in
your, in your category and howyour category helps.
(28:39):
That's, that's the the trick.
You know there's also.
I'm sorry, I'll keep going, butthere's one other thing.
I just was reading um sethgodin has a book out, came out
last fall called this isstrategy, and one of the things
he advocates for is and he justsays, mass marketing is just
waste.
(28:59):
Now your best bet is to find the10 people who most want what
you have and who most want itbecause of the way you do it and
the values that you evoke, andthey will be your marketing
because they'll.
Each one of them will find, youknow five or 10 people and it
blows up from there.
So that's, that's a really coolstrategy.
(29:23):
I've just started, just gotthrough that little chapter and
I want to dig further in, butbut it's a great book.
You know he's very poignant andhe's very focused.
Seth Godin, this is strategyand recommended.
Alyssa (29:34):
Yeah, that's great and that's so interesting, and it's
all about the customerexperience.
Like, even for small businessowners, I think that there is a
better, even a better,opportunity to really hone in on
the customer experience andreally taking care of who is
purchasing from you and who'susing your services.
That is how you can effectivelygrow and scale your business.
(29:56):
And so, as we kind of shiftgears into my next segment, this
is called Brilliant Bite of theWeek and this is where I share
a, or my guests share, a quick,laser focused tip that they can
use right away.
So you've shared tons of tips,but if there is a sneaky another
one over there, tons of tips,but if there is a sneaky another
(30:16):
one over there that you canalso share, what is one mantra,
insight or strategy that you canshare that my listeners can use
right away?
Reid (30:36):
Find that one word that describes what you're known for
and everything they do laddersup to that, I think southwest is
southwest airlines is freedom.
You know you're now free tomove about the country.
Um, what do you do?
That ladders up in everythingyou do in your business.
(30:58):
How do you live up to thatsingular proposition, that
singular thing I think Walmart'svalue.
What is that single thing?
What do you really sell?
There's an old thing from kindof I can't remember where I read
(31:19):
it decades ago, but back beforeI think GM was becoming GM, and
someone said to the leader ofGM at the time you guys sell
cars, right?
And he said no, we selltransportation.
We tell we sell transportation.
(31:40):
That's what we do.
We are about transportation.
Now, all of a sudden, it's notjust cars anymore.
They make buses.
They helped with all kinds ofother things that are about that
focused idea of transportation.
So ask yourself that questionwhat is the one thing I do?
That one word that my brandlives under Thesaurus has helped
(32:05):
with that.
Looking at your competitors andkind of going, well, what do
they stand for?
What do they stand for?
And then where can I fit intothat?
Where can I be different?
That helps.
And I think the other thing isknowing where.
Where the tension lies is.
Is there unreleased tension ina category that no one has found
(32:27):
or figured out?
The singular thing, the oneword I mean that can be really
helpful.
And in a sense that's what Idid with my book.
I was like what is the onething that the best work I've
ever done has in common with thebest work that I'm jealous of
that's being done out there?
(32:48):
That's also driving the bestresults?
And that singular thing wasappreciation.
It's being appreciated thingwas appreciation.
It's being appreciated.
It has a redeeming value.
That isn't just about what theperson trying to sell me is
trying to sell.
It's about what they're doingto try and help me.
And oh, by the way, they sellthis thing.
Alyssa (33:08):
Yeah, that's great.
That's such helpful.
I know it was a long answer,but that was great.
I love that.
Even my one word is simplify.
That was great.
I love that.
I even my one word is simplify,because I just like to simplify
all the tech, so to remove allthose headaches when it comes to
building your funnel and doingautomations and things like that
.
That's where my expertise is.
(33:30):
But so now that I just want torecap quickly of what we've
talked about today, because wetouched on a lot of different
things we talked about.
You said prove to yourcustomers, you care about them.
So I feel like that's a reallybig one to think about.
Also to think about value basedtargeting, and then also for my
(33:50):
listeners to think about whattheir main message is, what
their one word, that they standfor, what is that existing
tension?
I feel like you've touched on somany good things here that I've
written down.
I'm just like this is so good,even your unique emotion
solution, like I had never eventhought about that.
That's such a great frameworkto kind of start and think about
, of what differentiates youfrom everybody else who also
(34:13):
sells the same thing, and so Ijust want to thank you, reid for
coming onto the show today andsharing all of this incredible
insight with us that I can takeaway.
Even my listeners can startthinking about what makes them
different, that they can show,and to also start looking at
appreciated branding and howthat works in their business,
(34:36):
yeah, and that works in theirbusiness.
Reid (34:37):
Yeah, and that's thank you , and I kind of I've been living
this for you know I wrote thebook and everything and so I'm
kind of very steeped in it.
So I apologize if I've gone offtoo much, but I you know
there's a lot of value here thatI think people can use to save
money, be more efficient intheir efforts to gain and gain
(35:02):
customers and not just, you know, not just the chasing of
transactions to get that onesale.
You know, brands are builtaround multiple sales and it's
much easier to keep a currentcustomer than to get a new one.
That's much cheaper sales andit's much easier to keep a
current customer than to get anew one.
That's much cheaper.
So that's part of what this isall about.
And I would just say that foranybody who wants some help with
(35:22):
this, you can go to my site,reidholmescom.
You can book a free call.
I can talk you through yourparticular issue if you want,
and maybe we can figure out away to help each other out.
I can help you and we can getgoing on getting your brand more
(35:44):
noticed and more cared and morecherished.
Alyssa (35:47):
Definitely, and so, if you want to learn more about
Reed's work, check out his bookAppreciated Branding Transform
your Brand from Ignored toIrreplaceable.
You can also download a freechapter by going to Reid's
website.
It's linked in the show notesof this episode as well.
So, yeah, thank you again, reid, and thank you guys for
listening today.
I hope you found this episodeas helpful as I did, and I'll
(36:09):
catch you next time on anotherbrilliant idea.
Thanks for hanging out with us.
Reid (36:13):
Thank you, Alyssa, for having me.
Alyssa (36:14):
Thanks, thanks for tuning into this episode of
Brilliant Ideas.
If you love the show, be sureto leave a review and follow me
on Instagram for even moreinsider tips and inspiration.
Ready to bring your next big,brilliant idea to life?
Visit AlyssaVelsercom forresources, guidance and
everything you need to startcreating something amazing.
Marketers spend millions and business owners spend
millions to convince people tocare about them, because they're
only talking about theirproduct or what their product is
or what it does.
The way things have shifted isyou need to prove to your
customers that you care aboutthem, not pay to get them to
(00:20):
care about you to get them tocare about you.
Alyssa (00:24):
Welcome to Brilliant Ideas, the podcast that takes
you behind the scenes of some ofthe most inspiring digital
products created by solopreneursjust like you.
I'm your host, alyssa, adigital product strategist who
helps subject matter expertsgrow their business with online
courses, memberships, coachingprograms and eBooks.
If you're a solopreneur withdreams of packaging your
expertise into a profitabledigital product, then this is
(00:45):
the podcast for you.
Expect honest conversations ofhow they started, the obstacles
they overcame, lessons learnedthe hard way, and who face the
same fears, doubts andchallenges you're experiencing,
from unexpected surprises tobreakthrough moments and
everything in between.
Tune in, get inspired and let'sspark your next big, brilliant
idea.
Welcome back to the BrilliantIdeas Podcast.
(01:06):
Joining me today is Reid Holmes.
He is the author of the numberone bestselling book,
appreciated Branding Transformyour Brand from Ignorant to
Irreplaceable.
It has become the go-toplaybook for any business
looking to stand out in acrowded market.
If you're ready to learn whyyour unique selling proposition
may not be working or how todrive huge marketing results
without a big budget, thisepisode is for you.
Let's dive right in.
(01:27):
Welcome to the show, reid.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Reid (01:32):
Thanks for having me.
I'm excited.
Alyssa (01:34):
Me too.
Now, in your book, youmentioned something about the
attention as being the oxygen ofmarketing, and up until this
point, our understanding ofgetting attention from our
customers stems from being clearabout our unique selling
proposition, and for decades,that single differentiating
statement was enough to drivesales.
But in today's hyper saturatedmarket, where people want a
(01:57):
deeper emotional connection,they want more authentic
experiences with their brands,or buying from it might not cut
it anymore, and so this raises acrucial, crucial question that
I am even so curious about whydo you think that the unique
selling proposition isineffective or even outdated?
Reid (02:17):
There's a few different ways to answer that, a few
different things that I think gointo that.
First of all, when RosserReeves invented what he calls
the unique selling proposition,it was back in an era where
product categories weren't sosaturated with options and I say
this as part of one of my talksis go stand in the laundry
(02:42):
detergent aisle at any big boxstore and you'll see at least 30
different brands that all solvethe same problem.
How can each of them berationally unique?
Whiter whites, three shadeswhiter whites, three shades
whiter whites, with perfume thatyou like to smell?
I mean, at what point does itjust become too much for people
(03:05):
to deal with?
So, or to process?
Because that's the other thingthat makes the unique selling
proposition somewhat obsolete,particularly in crowded
categories.
We are all getting hit with10,000 messages a day, 10,000
interruptions.
How do we know what to payattention to?
It certainly isn't going to besome product that says you know,
(03:30):
now, with flavor crystals orwhatever.
It's just, it's just not.
It's not a way to differentiateyourself anymore in a more in
the most effective andbreakthrough way possible.
And so that's another reasonwhy I think the unique selling
proposition is is becomeobsolete.
It's not totally obsolete.
There are products that arerationally different and usually
(03:54):
they're newer products thatcreate new categories, like Uber
, for example.
Now, I get that.
I get the rational benefit ofthat of Uber making you know,
kind of democratizing theability to get a ride, and I get
that that's newsworthy.
(04:15):
But when you don't have newslike a new product or you don't
have the money to invest on anentirely new product, you need
something I call the uniqueappreciatable solution.
I call it in the book theunique emotional solution.
They're interchangeable, butthe idea basically is how are
(04:42):
you helping me with your?
So, as an example, a mentor ofmine and I've mentioned this
before too, but it's veryapplicable here A mentor of mine
talks about how he had a clientwho was a tennis pro and this
guy kept saying I got tennis,tennis lessons, who needs tennis
(05:04):
lessons?
And nobody really cared.
And my argument is he couldeven be saying you know, if you
have a weak forehand, I'm yourtennis guy because that's my
area of expertise and you mightget a few more.
You know, I don't know ifyou're going to blow it up what
he decided is he realized thatadjacent to tennis are a
(05:28):
population of people, um,parents whose kids are running
them ragged, and so hisproposition was who's got?
Who's got kids that you'd liketo learn a lifelong skill?
I'll take them out onto atennis court and tire them out
for an hour and you guys get abreak.
(05:48):
All of a sudden, his businessexploded because of that unique,
appreciable solution.
Suddenly it's like oh yeah,that's a help to me that I get,
and so that's what I'm talkingabout.
Is it's not about the rationaldifferentiator, particularly in
these crowded categories,because there's just too much
crap for people to think aboutIf the way they're going to pay
(06:11):
attention to is if you solve aproblem, if you go oh, that's a
problem I need to solve rightnow.
Okay, yeah, I need that.
So that's kind of what I'mtalking about.
Alyssa (06:20):
Okay, so then your unique emotion solution.
So how can a brand or abusiness start the process of
finding out what they couldsolve that invokes like that
kind of emotion, like thattennis pro who now offered
parents and kids you know, tirethem out, like how could they
(06:43):
start the process of figuringthat out for their own business?
Reid (06:47):
most of the time it starts with a, an interesting cultural
data point.
Um, but it but it doesn't haveto.
So if you look at your category, or even your product, and you
think about the, the, where itsits and what things are
adjacent to it, um, anotherexample I use is the laundry
(07:10):
example, uh, which is in my book, but um, you know, the.
There are two brands in that goto head to head, head to head
in um india.
One is called aerial and one iscalled surf, and their laundry
detergents, laundry powders, andevery I don't know probably
(07:32):
every quarter there, one or theother is spending millions to
try and get some little right ofthe decimal point growth, share
, growth.
So at one point back in thiswas 2017, and this is one of the
cases that really animated meabout this idea of appreciated
branding.
Ariel realized that they foundthis data point that 95 of the
(07:57):
people in india still thoughtlaundry was a woman's job, and,
well, there's a tension thatneeds relief, and that's another
ingredient of this is like isthere an existing tension that
you can help relieve?
For tennis, it was.
My kids are driving me nuts.
For this particular example,it's.
(08:20):
Why do I have to do the laundryall the time.
Why can't anybody else help?
And the brand decided to stepinto the fray and say you know
what we can help with that?
We're going to use our voice toadvocate for others in the
family.
And the campaign was calledShare the Load and it was
hashtag Share the Load.
They did this and theybasically got thanked by their
(08:43):
best customers for doing it, tothe tune of an increase of 76%
in sales.
Now, you don't get that fromjust promotional marketing.
You don't get that from just apromotional ad.
You have to find a way toreally help proactively and then
you get thanked.
And that's why they call, orI've called.
(09:06):
Money is kind of just anotherthank you note.
Alyssa (09:09):
It is.
Yeah, this is interesting, thisexisting tension.
That's a key word here, and youdive into this idea of
appreciated branding in yourbook and, from what I gather,
it's shifting from this idea ofjust.
You know, any promotional adcan say, like, buy my stuff.
Today, you know that mindsetthat you know, buy my stuff,
here it is, but that's notreally enough anymore and what
(09:35):
you actually want to do is youwant to build a brand or a
business where people appreciateand that's exactly what you had
shared with the laundrydetergent, and so what I'm
thinking about it is like, onceyou do that, once you find that
existing tension, that whenpeople think about your product,
they're not just rememberingthat it's okay, laundry
(09:58):
detergent, but you're, it's,that's how also they, how you,
how they feel after from youknow, oh, like they're sharing
the load.
It's not just a women's job, andso that's interesting, um, and
this is actually very realisticfor business owners, I think,
who are likely to have a lot ofsuccess with appreciated
(10:19):
branding.
I want you to go more into moredetail about this and just
really simplify it, um, and whatit is and what it does, because
I think that small businessowners are going to have a lot
of success with this, becausethey can curate a very loyal fan
base from, you know, doingsomething different with their
marketing, and a lot of smallbusiness owners do not have a
(10:40):
big budget to spend on marketing, so this might actually be a
good perspective and a goodmethod for getting out to the
right kinds of people.
And so how can you or how canthey see results without
throwing money on ads or havingto spend a bigger budget with a
that a lot of these solopreneursjust don't have?
Reid (11:00):
Well, you need to find that tension point.
So I'm actually speaking to abunch of chiropractors tomorrow
and I was just looking atchiropractor sites and the way
that they're so OK, let me backup one step here.
(11:22):
Marketers spend millions andbusiness owners spend millions
to convince people to care aboutthem, because they're only
talking about their product orwhat their product is or what it
does.
The way things have shifted isyou need to prove to your
customers that you care aboutthem, not pay to get them to
(11:44):
care about you your customers,that you care about them, not
pay to get them to care aboutyou, because when you're paying
to get them to care about you,there's no emotional connection
there.
There's no.
It's all about the product andnot whip um kind of example.
(12:09):
So deluxe check is a company inthe twin cities where I am and
they have.
They've been known for decadesas as basically making checks
for people home.
You know, checks for yourchecking account, checks for
business checks, checks, checkchecks and they have been
depositioned and de-cared aboutbecause electronic financial
(12:36):
transactions have become thenorm, so a lot of most people
don't need checks anymore.
The ones that do still use themare dying off and god love them
, uh, or they're in front of meat costco, which happens,
although costco banned checks,um, but um, the point is that,
(12:57):
um, what, what deluxe did?
And I talked to amanda brmanshe's the one that was the chief
marketing officer there.
She said we were being outspent11 to 1 by all these other
companies that are offeringoffering full suites of business
services for people who havesmall businesses.
(13:18):
Did, is they decided what we'regoing to do?
Is we're going to do?
We're going to have a?
Um, um, well, they call it themain street revolution, small
business revolution, and theythey basically had towns compete
for a fifty thousand dollargrant to for for the main street
businesses, and when that grantwas awarded, they made a big
(13:44):
splash video and whatever.
And then they brought in Amandaactually went in and was one of
the people in what became abouta six to eight episode series,
and they would go into thesesmall businesses and they would
help those small businesseslearn how to grow.
What should their website bedoing?
(14:05):
You know how can they becapturing more customers?
Uh, what?
What kind of?
Um, you know kind of mainstreet events could they plan
with other business owners totry and drive more traffic?
All of these things became thisshow called small business
revolution and the the people onthat main street, the people
(14:26):
who were small business ownersof which obviously there are
millions watched that showbecause they were getting
utility from it.
They had questions and no onewas giving them the answers,
except these guys stepped in andsaid here's how your site
should work, here's how to getmore profit from this or
(14:47):
whatever.
That show went on for sixseasons.
It was nominated for an Emmyand, according to Amanda, their
performance, marketing okay, themoney, the marketing.
They spend money on direct mail, paid advertising.
The results went up like 10xbecause people recognize oh, I
(15:08):
know that logo.
They're not the old deluxe fromyears ago.
They're helping me out and thismight be something that fits in
with other ways.
They've been trying to help meand so that's one way you do it.
To get more granular on yourquestion, which was you know how
, how can a small business dothat?
(15:29):
Well, first I'd suggestwatching that series.
I think it's still out there.
It's probably on YouTube.
But in addition to that, what isyour main message on your
website when you, when peopleland?
What reason are you giving forthem to care about you?
Is it?
Sign up today and save money.
You might catch a few fish, butyou're not going to
(15:52):
differentiate yourself andyou're racing to the bottom.
Branding is not about pricecutting, building up value so
that you can command healthiermargins in exchange for
confidence, trust, know-how,knowledge, all of those things.
(16:14):
So if you're trading only onprice, you're never going to
grow and become and I meanfinancially with people who
believe in what you stand for.
So you have to stand forsomething, and when I talk about
these chiropractors, you know.
One of the things I want to talkto them about is what?
(16:34):
Why did you get into thisbusiness?
What?
What are your values?
That's a better place to start.
There's a whole other scienceof targeting that's kind of
coming along here in the lastthree or four years and it's
called values-based targeting.
And instead of saying, well, Iwant to talk to Generation Z
(16:57):
about my Patagonia jacket orwhatever values targeting is, I
want to talk to a cohort ofpeople who love adventure.
Those are the people who'dprobably want to buy one of my
jackets and they're notnecessarily as price sensitive
because they want somethingthat's going to help them live
that type of life.
(17:17):
So what are you doing?
I guess the other question iswhat are you really selling?
And it isn't a rationalsolution, particularly in
crowded categories.
It's usually something that hasan emotional underpinning of
tension to it that someone goesoh, finally someone recognized.
It's a lot like I'm kind ofgoing off here alissa's oh good,
(17:39):
you buy the ticket, you get theride right, so, um, so, uh, you
know the, the point being that,um, if you, if you find
something in the ether, inculture, in society, that that
has that tension that has notbeen addressed, and you come
(18:01):
along to solve it, you are goingto leapfrog because people are
going to go.
I mean, it's kind of like ajoke, right?
I talk about this in my booktoo.
Is comedy, comedy is just truththat no one else has recognized
, right?
So?
And the reason it's truth isbecause it's recognized and
(18:22):
processed and it's involuntary.
You can't, if you findsomething funny, you will
involuntary.
You can't.
If you find something funny,you will laugh at it.
You can't, you can't justdecide to laugh, you know.
And it's the other thing, likeif if I used to tell my creative
teams if you have to tell mesomething's a joke, it's not
funny, it has to evoke that,that, that that response that is
(18:42):
uncontrolled.
It just kind of happens thatway.
That's the kind of thing you'regoing for.
What is that thing in life andin the world that you can help
with?
You know, the bigger thing fora chiropractor might.
I don't even know what it wouldbe, I've only started thinking
about it, but there's probablysomething in the, in the, in the
(19:04):
tension of needing chiropracticservices, that you could uh
leverage.
That will make you stand outamong the litany of other
chiropractors who are alltrained the same way.
They all know the same things.
They all you know will give youthe adjustment, um, but what is
it they really believe in?
(19:25):
Maybe one chiropractor reallybelieves in a very ethereal kind
of.
You know, they make the wholeexperience of getting your
adjustment.
They put some kind of aroma inthe room.
They have white sheets hangingeverywhere.
They make it feel relaxing andfeeling.
You know, how are youdifferentiating yourself?
(19:47):
Because oftentimes it's notjust what you say but it does
have to come from what you do.
You know, if you got into acertain business because you had
a deep seated desire to helppeople do X, how are you living
that out?
What are you doing to helpsolve that bigger problem for
(20:07):
them?
Alyssa (20:08):
No, that's really helpful.
It really shows a different anda fresh perspective.
And also, like, when we thinkabout it, when we're making
decisions about who to buy from,95% is subconscious emotions,
and so we're not really thinkinglogically.
When we're looking at something, we're we're going by our gut
reaction of like what we feel,yeah, yeah, so, and so this kind
(20:31):
of goes on to my next questionabout the plateau of
indifference.
So what I understand a plateauof indifference is that you're
in this weird space where yourbrand is just simply existing
without kind of sparking anykind of reaction from your
audience and let me know if I'mwrong about this, but I would
imagine like nobody kind ofwants to be in this space where
(20:51):
you're kind of forgotten about,like you're just, you just exist
, but you're not, no one isreally looking at you or you're
not really in the spotlight.
And so for me I'm, you know,for my audience and for my
listeners, I'm sure would you beable to share some strategies
on how to avoid this plateau ofindifference where you kind of
(21:12):
slip between the cracks, you'renot really, you know, making an
impact, doing those things thatyou talk about, that you talked
about in your, in your justpreviously.
How can we avoid that?
Reid (21:27):
didn't just previously.
How can we avoid that?
Yeah, so the plateau ofindifference is a place that I
defined in my book, and it'smore mature brands or mature
categories end up there, andthere's a reason why global ad
spending is projected to passthe $1 trillion mark in this
next year or year and a half, Ithink and the reason is because,
(21:48):
when all you have is a hammer,every problem looks like a nail.
I know that's a cliche andeverybody says that, but,
marketing directors, it's sohard to keep up with everything.
It's so hard to keep up withhow things are changing.
Keep up with how things arechanging.
All the digital tools, all theretargeting, all the AI-driven
messaging and auto whatever.
(22:10):
It's becoming less and lesspersonal, even though the
phrasing is personalizedbranding, it's out of control
and you don't need to spend aton of money.
In fact, I would argue that ifyou want to get off the plateau
of indifference, you need tofind a way to talk about
(22:35):
yourself.
That's just different, andthat's what I help people do,
and that's the thing, becauseone of the things I talk about
and this relates to the plateauof indifference in a world where
you're getting hit with 10,000messages a day there are
messages that are gettingthrough, and guess what those
ones are?
They're the ones that youalready care about.
(22:58):
They are on topics that you arealready tuned into.
I call it a mental radiostation.
If you have kids and someonesays I've got tennis lessons,
that's not going to, it's notgoing to come on through that
channel.
But if you say, if you havekids and they're driving you
(23:18):
nuts, okay, now, now I'mlistening.
Now I want to hear what youhave to say, because I identify
with that problem.
So help me identify with howyou can make my life better is
really the way to get off theplateau of indifference.
It's not spend more money andinterrupt me in more places and
obnoxiously track me everywhereon the Internet.
(23:40):
That's not.
That's not how you get off thatplateau.
In fact, in many ways thatexacerbates the problem.
I have an example.
I once searched for a canoepaddle and, um, I got hit with
canoe paddle ads everywhere Iturned and I was just like what
(24:01):
if I already bought one?
Or what if?
Uh, you know, I just happenedto errantly search canoe paddle
when I met canal or something inmy newsletter about this.
Don't personalize me based onwhat could have been a fat
(24:31):
finger input or could have beensomething I've already purchased
.
If I'm looking for a canoepaddle, help me be a better
canoer.
Help me find ways to providecontent for me, to help me learn
the difference between a woodenpaddle and a plastic paddle.
Help me understand.
You know where I can getinformation about when certain
rivers are cresting and aresafer to canoe, or when they
(24:53):
want, when I you know I want.
Help me understand.
Help me be a better canoer,instead of just trying to find
me everywhere I go to sell me acanoe paddle that is appreciated
branding.
Now you've got my attention forsomething that you've been
kindly helping me with and I'mmuch more predisposed to want to
give you my money becauseyou've been generous, you've
(25:15):
been helpful.
That's just the way humans work.
It just has to carry over towhat you'd call marketing, but
it's really just being a goodhuman being.
Alyssa (25:26):
Wow, that's a really good take on it.
I'm not thinking this for mybusiness as well.
This is a good lesson for metoo, and so do you find that
I'll give you my Venmo you canyeah, and do you find that
people know that they're in thatplateau of indifference, like,
do brands know this, or is itsomething that you have to point
out for them?
Reid (25:46):
If people are thanking you for your product and your
efforts and your service and howyou deliver it, you're probably
not on the plateau ofindifference.
If no one's thanking you, andif you have to discount with
price or find other ways to getpeople to care about you, you're
probably on the plateau ofindifference.
(26:07):
If you're a marketing directorand you're going, I just can't
break through.
I got to go, I got it.
I got to either do somethingreally crazy creatively that
makes people pay attention to myad, or I got to go talk to my
CEO and CFO and get more moneybecause I just don't have the
share of voice that's getting methe traction I need.
It's not about that anymore.
(26:30):
It just isn't.
You've got to find ways to begenerous and kind and it's
cheaper.
You don't have to open a newplant.
You don't have to.
You know kind of create somenew whizzy-doos it product.
You know, one of the jokes Ihave in my book is you know the
ur problem.
So now it's um cheesier.
(26:52):
You know, now doritos arecheesier.
I knew they were were holdingout, I knew it.
I knew there was a potentialfor more cheese and they just
never did it.
I mean, these are things thatjust no one's sitting there
going.
You know, these Doritos aregood, but I wish they were
cheesier.
You know, what do people want?
What problems do they need tohave solved?
That you can help solve.
(27:14):
And and oftentimes in majorproducts like those things,
those consumer packaged goods itstarts with entertainment.
It starts with getting thatresponse that you're being
thanked for how you talk to them, for how you sell to them.
(27:37):
Progressive is a great example.
I would bet Progressive hasovertaken Geico in terms of
favorability because their,their work is so entertaining
and I thank them for that.
You know, I look at a Geicospot and unfortunately they have
really slid over the last fewyears and I don't feel that
gratitude, that thatappreciation for that 30 seconds
(27:59):
that they just interrupted mewith.
But when the guy says, you know, don't become the parents or
your I can't remember the phrase, but it's like you know, don't
become your parents or whatever.
And you know, I just saw onethe other day with these dudes
in the backyard with their fireand there's one guy tries to
build a fire and the other guy'slike oh, it's not a good start,
(28:19):
it's just funny andentertaining.
And when you're talking aboutmass brands like that.
That's one way to getappreciated.
But when you're talking about asmaller business, provide some
utility.
Find a way to help make peoplebetter versions of themselves in
your, in your category and howyour category helps.
(28:39):
That's, that's the the trick.
You know there's also.
I'm sorry, I'll keep going, butthere's one other thing.
I just was reading um sethgodin has a book out, came out
last fall called this isstrategy, and one of the things
he advocates for is and he justsays, mass marketing is just
waste.
(28:59):
Now your best bet is to find the10 people who most want what
you have and who most want itbecause of the way you do it and
the values that you evoke, andthey will be your marketing
because they'll.
Each one of them will find, youknow five or 10 people and it
blows up from there.
So that's, that's a really coolstrategy.
(29:23):
I've just started, just gotthrough that little chapter and
I want to dig further in, butbut it's a great book.
You know he's very poignant andhe's very focused.
Seth Godin, this is strategyand recommended.
Alyssa (29:34):
Yeah, that's great and that's so interesting, and it's
all about the customerexperience.
Like, even for small businessowners, I think that there is a
better, even a better,opportunity to really hone in on
the customer experience andreally taking care of who is
purchasing from you and who'susing your services.
That is how you can effectivelygrow and scale your business.
(29:56):
And so, as we kind of shiftgears into my next segment, this
is called Brilliant Bite of theWeek and this is where I share
a, or my guests share, a quick,laser focused tip that they can
use right away.
So you've shared tons of tips,but if there is a sneaky another
one over there, tons of tips,but if there is a sneaky another
(30:16):
one over there that you canalso share, what is one mantra,
insight or strategy that you canshare that my listeners can use
right away?
Reid (30:36):
Find that one word that describes what you're known for
and everything they do laddersup to that, I think southwest is
southwest airlines is freedom.
You know you're now free tomove about the country.
Um, what do you do?
That ladders up in everythingyou do in your business.
(30:58):
How do you live up to thatsingular proposition, that
singular thing I think Walmart'svalue.
What is that single thing?
What do you really sell?
There's an old thing from kindof I can't remember where I read
(31:19):
it decades ago, but back beforeI think GM was becoming GM, and
someone said to the leader ofGM at the time you guys sell
cars, right?
And he said no, we selltransportation.
We tell we sell transportation.
(31:40):
That's what we do.
We are about transportation.
Now, all of a sudden, it's notjust cars anymore.
They make buses.
They helped with all kinds ofother things that are about that
focused idea of transportation.
So ask yourself that questionwhat is the one thing I do?
That one word that my brandlives under Thesaurus has helped
(32:05):
with that.
Looking at your competitors andkind of going, well, what do
they stand for?
What do they stand for?
And then where can I fit intothat?
Where can I be different?
That helps.
And I think the other thing isknowing where.
Where the tension lies is.
Is there unreleased tension ina category that no one has found
(32:27):
or figured out?
The singular thing, the oneword I mean that can be really
helpful.
And in a sense that's what Idid with my book.
I was like what is the onething that the best work I've
ever done has in common with thebest work that I'm jealous of
that's being done out there?
(32:48):
That's also driving the bestresults?
And that singular thing wasappreciation.
It's being appreciated thingwas appreciation.
It's being appreciated.
It has a redeeming value.
That isn't just about what theperson trying to sell me is
trying to sell.
It's about what they're doingto try and help me.
And oh, by the way, they sellthis thing.
Alyssa (33:08):
Yeah, that's great.
That's such helpful.
I know it was a long answer,but that was great.
I love that.
Even my one word is simplify.
That was great.
I love that.
I even my one word is simplify,because I just like to simplify
all the tech, so to remove allthose headaches when it comes to
building your funnel and doingautomations and things like that
.
That's where my expertise is.
(33:30):
But so now that I just want torecap quickly of what we've
talked about today, because wetouched on a lot of different
things we talked about.
You said prove to yourcustomers, you care about them.
So I feel like that's a reallybig one to think about.
Also to think about value basedtargeting, and then also for my
(33:50):
listeners to think about whattheir main message is, what
their one word, that they standfor, what is that existing
tension?
I feel like you've touched on somany good things here that I've
written down.
I'm just like this is so good,even your unique emotion
solution, like I had never eventhought about that.
That's such a great frameworkto kind of start and think about
, of what differentiates youfrom everybody else who also
(34:13):
sells the same thing, and so Ijust want to thank you, reid for
coming onto the show today andsharing all of this incredible
insight with us that I can takeaway.
Even my listeners can startthinking about what makes them
different, that they can show,and to also start looking at
appreciated branding and howthat works in their business,
(34:36):
yeah, and that works in theirbusiness.
Reid (34:37):
Yeah, and that's thank you , and I kind of I've been living
this for you know I wrote thebook and everything and so I'm
kind of very steeped in it.
So I apologize if I've gone offtoo much, but I you know
there's a lot of value here thatI think people can use to save
money, be more efficient intheir efforts to gain and gain
(35:02):
customers and not just, you know, not just the chasing of
transactions to get that onesale.
You know, brands are builtaround multiple sales and it's
much easier to keep a currentcustomer than to get a new one.
That's much cheaper sales andit's much easier to keep a
current customer than to get anew one.
That's much cheaper.
So that's part of what this isall about.
And I would just say that foranybody who wants some help with
(35:22):
this, you can go to my site,reidholmescom.
You can book a free call.
I can talk you through yourparticular issue if you want,
and maybe we can figure out away to help each other out.
I can help you and we can getgoing on getting your brand more
(35:44):
noticed and more cared and morecherished.
Alyssa (35:47):
Definitely, and so, if you want to learn more about
Reed's work, check out his bookAppreciated Branding Transform
your Brand from Ignored toIrreplaceable.
You can also download a freechapter by going to Reid's
website.
It's linked in the show notesof this episode as well.
So, yeah, thank you again, reid, and thank you guys for
listening today.
I hope you found this episodeas helpful as I did, and I'll
(36:09):
catch you next time on anotherbrilliant idea.
Thanks for hanging out with us.
Reid (36:13):
Thank you, Alyssa, for having me.
Alyssa (36:14):
Thanks, thanks for tuning into this episode of
Brilliant Ideas.
If you love the show, be sureto leave a review and follow me
on Instagram for even moreinsider tips and inspiration.
Ready to bring your next big,brilliant idea to life?
Visit AlyssaVelsercom forresources, guidance and
everything you need to startcreating something amazing.
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