As we creep into a new year, I have two things I want to ask you to consider to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes as your competitors. Achieving competitive advantage through brand fundamentals is crucial.
1. Remember that the fundamentals and the basics have always worked and will continue to work.
Brands and marketers are increasingly obsessed with tactics, tools, and tech, seeking to realize the promises big tech companies and Martech make but are seldom seen. Don’t get caught up in the hype. Humans have always been humans, but we change the world, and that alters our opinions, habits, and beliefs. Competitive advantage through brand fundamentals can be achieved by studying humans, especially the humans you serve, and understand the problems you solve for your ideal customers, and then use the best tech or means necessary to make real connections that result in honest relationships.
I’m not anti-technology, not even close; I’m pro-thinking and understanding, then choosing the right tech for the job. And don’t forget that those big promises made by Martech are a strategy to sell their technology to you, not necessarily deliver results. They will try to convince you otherwise, but embracing the basics and fundamentals can be your competitive advantage in 2025 and beyond.
2. Long-game thinking ensures progress now and later.
Sure, “It’s my money, and I want it now!” is a typical mentality when it comes to business success. But it’s BS, and we all know it. The refrain of overnight riches or instant success is a myth— and a dangerous one at that. Planning for a future state of more significant market share and success is long-game thinking, and competitive advantage through brand fundamentals also requires you to optimize the day-to-day to realize that vision.
Planning allows you to make progress; trying to “buy the result” without doing the work is a trap that will not work at best and, at worst, ruin you/ your brand. With a vision and a plan, you can measure backward to gauge your progress instead of measuring forward to be frustrated about how much further you want to go, never realizing your wins along the way.
There are no emergencies in marketing, and the urgency you feel isn’t real. Take your time to plan, then evaluate that plan along the way. The little experiments you do along the journey are fun and impactful to your knowledge base and bottom line. Don’t waste the opportunity to learn, grow, improve, and succeed today and in the future, and consider your competitive advantage through brand fundamentals as part of this process.
