Why Abandoning *YOUR* Brand's Story Is Bad For Business!
- Writer for DDI on Medium
- Sep 17, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 5
"Good news! Get it (tariffs) down to about 50% and I feel at least we can survive the year as a small brand."
A brand’s supply chain narrative is not just about the logistics of getting a product from point A to point B; it’s also about telling a story that resonates with customers.
Unfortunately, when businesses feel like they’ve reached the mountain top of trust and loyalty, they typically have a way of abandoning the plot:
They either stop offering the product or change the story, and customers and clients begin looking for alternatives.
That's how Digicel entered Trinidad and Tobago’s market.
Remove the proverbial tariff you slapped on your business by abandoning your brand story if you want to survive as a small brand in uncertain times.
You've made it out of the red ocean of competition, but now you're telling yourself that your ideal clients won’t abandon you.
Think again!
BRAND AND BUSINESS ARE NOT THE SAME THINGS!
Brand is about the emotional connection, and business is about what makes money.
They both play a role in the client purchase relationship, but in different ways: one is about the why and the other is about the what.
Why always trumps what, especially in times of uncertainty. So when a small brand abandons the story that made the business relevant, it’s openly declaring war on it's ability to make money.
Duhh!
New clients are estimated to cost up to 25% more to acquire than just staying loyal to those you’ve already earned trust with.
WAS SELLING THE BIRTHRIGHT WORTH IT, ESAU?
A public case study to help you self-reflect:
A friend of mine is currently pouring tons of effort into rebranding the public perception of each member of Trinidad and Tobago's last governing party. Because even with 22 seats earned in the thick of a pandemic, they chose to spend the last 4 years facilitating a different audience instead of doubling down on what the supporters they already had trusted, and paid a heavy price for the betrayal.
Even with a leadership change, could they have won the 2024 general election had they prioritized understanding the story?
Could you earn 15K in the midst of an economic meltdown by simply focusing on the one thing you do better than everyone else for a specific group of people?
At the centre of why a local early-stage startup will abandon the why for the what, 1-2 years into business, is money and a lack of discipline to be loyal.
This is what I call a brand story tariff. And for local 1-3 man shows, the cost of survival (despite the what) is high:
Team building
Purchasing expensive technology
Sell your soul to the devil, like investors (click for context)
Traveling to China?!
All because you didn't understand the story, chose to change it, or abandoned who you are for.
Cru Nonpareil is Trinidad and Tobago's first luxury shoe brand, but the company, more than icandy, sells exclusivity in a country where its target audience is being told "to wear the shoe box."
Put Frustration In Your Past By Stepping Into A Variety Of Comfortable Dress Shoes is about making Dbig4 feel seen and understood as much as it's about the logistics of the supply chain.
The product is undeniable, but it's the narrative that shaped the perception people have of the brand and gave the business relevance.
With narrative being seldom pushed in comparison to the product, now that they're experiencing supply chain issues they have no control over, what's left to influence brand loyalty?
Don't be afraid of owning what makes you different.
The double-edged sword here is to think of your target market like China. If you Trump them, they’ll play the game too; they'll look elsewhere for someone to tell them a better story.
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