SUMMARY
Taylor and Kelly open this episode of Behind the Brand with a simple exercise for small business owners: pull up five competitor websites and start reading. Chances are you will see the same words over and over, including quality, trusted, custom solutions, and exceptional service. The hosts explain why so many businesses end up in what they call the sea of sameness. Those words feel safe, and many owners believe fitting in means looking and sounding like the competition. They also make the point that this is not a new AI problem. Businesses have been repeating the same adjectives for as long as marketing has existed.
From there, the conversation moves into how to actually find a message that is different. Kelly and Taylor explain that differentiation is not only a design decision. It also lives in the words you use, and brand positioning goes well beyond choosing a formal or friendly tone. They walk through an accountant example to show how describing the how, such as meeting with clients twice a year before tax time, turns a generic claim into a real difference. Kelly also shares an anonymized story about a long-term client who believed service was their edge, and why a positioning statement has to be true before it can be used.
The hosts then break down what a brand platform (or brand strategy) includes: a differentiating factor, a positioning statement, messaging and tone, and target audience personas. They clarify that it is a separate service from a visual identity, and that it can be done as a standalone project. Taylor shares a recent example of a solopreneur photographer who discovered that what she really sold was the experience leading up to the final photos, and both hosts agree that the conversations along the way are often the most valuable part of the process.
The episode closes with a look at AI and brand voice. Because AI takes the average of everything already published, it tends to repeat the sameness businesses are trying to escape. Taylor and Kelly talk about developing a distinct style, using Moxie’s own tongue-in-cheek personality as the example, and admit they are due to put their own brand through a whiteboard session and SWOT analysis three and a half years in.
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Takeaways:
Words like quality, experience, trusted, and great service are usually true, but when every competitor uses them, they stop meaning much of anything and stop setting you apart.
Quality work, expertise, and caring about customers are what customers already expect. To differentiate your business, describe how you deliver, not just that you do.
Your differentiator is rarely something to invent. A brand positioning process uncovers it through deeper conversations about how your business actually works.
Key Topics Covered:
