The Search for Meaning

Many people (but not all) are searching for more meaning in their lives. They seek to do business with companies that have a compelling story, that do some good in the world—who offer a better way.

Crafting and building a brand that speaks to this audience is not a demographic approach to marketing. Some would call it a psychographic approach, which refers to behaviors. But, we feel this type of connection goes deeper than psychographics, that it speaks to the values that people hold. We call it “valuegraphics”—the values people have that align with the values implied in the companies they do business with.

Aligning a brand around a discernible set of values that resonates with those who search for more meaning in their lives is a very powerful and effective way of scaling a business.

The Problem With Marketing

We often encounter people who are frustrated with their marketing. They have a great vision and have been plugging away at it for some time, however their business is not scaling in the way they want or need it to. They’ve spent lots of time and money with different marketing agencies or consultants. They’ve tried lots of things, but the needle is barely moving.

In almost every case when we talk with people in this place there is a disconnect between their vision and their brand. Their vision is unique, expansive and compelling, but their brand tells a different story. In this scenario, all the marketing in the world will not change the outcome, because there is something missing in the message they are conveying.

The Problem With Marketing

We often encounter people who are frustrated with their marketing. They have a great vision and have been plugging away at it for some time, however their business is not scaling in the way they want or need it to. They’ve spent lots of time and money with different marketing agencies or consultants. They’ve tried lots of things, but the needle is barely moving.

In almost every case when we talk with people in this place there is a disconnect between their vision and their brand. Their vision is unique, expansive and compelling, but their brand tells a different story. In this scenario, all the marketing in the world will not change the outcome, because there is something missing in the message they are conveying.

The Missing Element in Marketing

What we offer our clients is to introduce an intangible feeling into their marketing that energizes their brand and stimulates more connection. How we do this is by touching into the intangible qualities of the vision that underlies a brand. Common marketing approaches tend to gloss over this aspect of branding, and as a result they miss the most compelling aspects of their story.

When we miss the core essence of a brand, when we leave out the compelling and inspiring story that underlies a vision, then we tend to rely on a sales approach to marketing, which means hype, discounts and quantity of marketing versus quality. In this space we tend to look for the silver bullet, the next marketing trick that will bring us all the customers we need. Some marketing experts refer to this as “push marketing”—that we are pushing our message onto as many people as we can so that enough of them will say yes.

In contrast to push marketing is “pull marketing,” which means we create tension through content such as blogging, vlogging, social media, giving talks and interviews, podcasts and so forth and we seek to pull people along with us. The tension we create is that our product is valuable and you need this.

The Power of Authenticity

Pull marketing is a great approach, however our approach goes further still.

The closer we can align a brand with the true essence of a company, the more authentic the brand is. And the more authentic the brand is, the more compelling and enticing it is to those who hold similar values.

Authenticity is magnetic. We are hardwired to be enticed by it, because it’s secretly what we all yearn for—to be our true selves. So, when we see a company putting itself forward in a truly authentic way our attention perks up and we want to know more.

The Power of Authenticity

Pull marketing is a great approach, however our approach goes further still.

The closer we can align a brand with the true essence of a company, the more authentic the brand is. And the more authentic the brand is, the more compelling and enticing it is to those who hold similar values.

Authenticity is magnetic. We are hardwired to be enticed by it, because it’s secretly what we all yearn for—to be our true selves. So, when we see a company putting itself forward in a truly authentic way our attention perks up and we want to know more.