Distillation, not Dilution: the power of a strong brand position
Choices are hard.
At the grocery, choosing one recipe means limiting yourself to those dishes for dinner, forsaking all others. In business strategy, choice means focusing your efforts and resources on a singular approach, rather than spreading yourself thin.
People resist choice because they believe that such focus is limiting, and that such limitation poses an existential threat.
This reaction is common when leaders consider their brand strategy, and more specifically, their positioning. The conversation often goes like this:
I’m having trouble describing what we do in a bite-sized statement. When people talk about us, they usually get the general direction right, but they miss the essence of what we’re all about.
Like a game of telephone, over time the message is muddled and the market loses clarity on what you’re all about, your fans can’t effectively advocate for you, and your team lacks alignment on what matters and what doesn’t.
The answer, I believe, is the process of distilling a strategy down into a positioning statement, with a two or three-word brand essence at its core.
But won’t that kind of simplification paint us into a corner? Won’t we leave too much on the table?
This fallacy is common among leaders of any organization, from startups to nonprofits.
In reality, distillation is about concentrating the essence, not diluting it.
I’ve found Susan Kare’s thinking on this point is instructive. Kare was an early graphic designer at Apple, and according to the AIGA, is “Recognized for her bold and intelligent design of icons for the early Macintosh computers that defined the Apple user experience and set the industry standard with memorable wit and humanity.”
On icons and simplicity, Kare states:
“When something’s really realistic, it looks like somebody in particular who’s not you. When you take all the detail away, everyone can project themselves on to something simple. The fewer details, the more universal something is.”
At first blush, this process seems reductive, stripping away essential meaning.
In reality, distillation concentrates impact.
The same is true for a strong positioning statement. Not only will a bite-sized, meaningful, and memorable statement of your position help your audience spread your news, it will allow them to see themselves in your vision.
In this way, your positioning creates the context for a rich exchange of ideas and identity, engaging your audience on a deeper level, and becoming a platform for creative expression and exploration.
That doesn’t sound very limiting at all.
You don’t need to cook a dozen entrees for dinner and your company doesn’t need to try to be all things to all people. Instead, focus on making that one killer dish with just the prefect ingredients that everyone will love and evangelize.
Unless, of course, you’d rather be the Golden Corral of your category, with its pizza/chicken strip/taco smorgasbord (with Prime Rib on Sundays).
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