[Updated Dec. 2025]. Over the past five years, we’ve worked with a number of companies, including small, midsize, and large businesses, that had varying degrees of market penetration. The one thing they all had in common, though: All of them could use more attention on building their brand among competitors.
As we say in the business, brand trumps everything.
The problem is that there’s no real playbook for this.
And there are a million ways to go about it:
- Some might focus on social.
- Some might advertise (if they have capital) or raise capital for that purpose.
- Some do video, podcasting, or create/broadcast other forms of content.
- Some might do PR-related activities to get media attention.
- Some focus on other influencers or their network.
We’re not going to suggest one particular channel is better than another because each has its own merits, and much depends on the unique circumstances of the business. However, having worked with a number of different companies and also analyzed hundreds more for our digital marketing class over the years, we can certainly point to commonalities among those that have built what you might consider a “brand” in their space. From those learnings, we can glean 6 lessons from those who have done it successfully:
Lesson No. 1: Put Yourself Out There, Constantly
When it comes to building a brand, there is no substitute for visibility.
Small business owners. If you’re a small business owner, why not take the lead and put yourself and your face out there? While that might seem obvious to some (such as those whose main business revolves around themselves), many owners we know are still reticent about self-promotion, preferring others to take the lead. And we get it. We hear it all the time from them: “I want to build my company’s brand. Not necessarily my personal brand.” But the thing is, unless you have capital upfront and can spend the money for ads/distribution, the visibility of any new business may be more limited than your personal one when you start out.
Midsize businesses. If you’re a midsize business, are you advertising? You’ve probably made it to the point where you have a couple of hundred or so employees. But what’s the one thing that holds you back? Competition from brands that are bigger and more well-known. That’s where risk comes into play. To beat other companies and become top-of-mind, there are few avenues better than advertising because it’s the one medium that will allow you to plant that trigger that connects you with a particular idea in your industry. Example: Think of a company that helps you get grass stains out of your clothes? Most people would immediately think of Tide because that’s the way the company crafted its messaging to project that idea.
Bottom line: Don’t take the Field of Dreams approach – “if you build it, they will come,” which is not a recipe for success in anything related to marketing. Put yourself out there constantly and be aggressive.
Lesson No. 2: Be Known for a Narrower Focus
Remember Amazon? Well, it started out only in the book business. And became great at that category before branching out and dominating nearly every aspect of e-commerce. Nike? It was all about shoes at the beginning. Focus matters when you’re starting out and when you’re still a midsize company. It’s OK if it’s a smaller niche; what’s most important is that you become known in that particular niche. Maybe it’s marketing for real estate agents or plumbers? Maybe it’s catering to a particular demographic of retirees? Maybe it’s even narrower – retirees in a more fixed-income bracket.
The more you focus up front, the bigger the benefit from a marketing standpoint, for two reasons:
- You’ll be able to hone your messaging more specifically to the target audience, which will create better response rates.
- You’ll establish expertise in that particular area more quickly and have a bigger opportunity to dominate whatever market there is.
Bottom line: Once you’ve saturated a particular niche (similar to the examples above), you can then expand if you like to other areas or broaden your scope. At that point, you’ll also have the learnings from the particular specialty you started in, so that you can ramp up either horizontally (add new topical areas) or vertically (building up additional products or services in the same topical space).
Lesson No. 3: It’s All About Content
Yes, if you’re a large company, the need to put out content is perhaps dwarfed by your ability to reach audiences through advertising. But most companies don’t have those kinds of ad budgets. And even large companies put millions of dollars into content production. If you think about the top YouTube brands, for example, they might produce 80 videos a month. 80! That’s a lot of content just in video alone. For a small business, you may not reach that level. However, content is the one differentiator that can boost your visibility. And it’s cost-effective, as it typically only takes your time and effort. As we often say, content is the guerilla marketing of today. What types of content? You have so many options here, but much will depend on the type of business you have (whether you’re the face of it) and other considerations. In this blog post, we provide an example of 6 types of business content (6 approaches) – all of which elevate the brand.
Bottom line: To be a strong brand, you should consider becoming a content machine, promoting your content on YouTube, social networks, email, and even advertising to spread awareness of your authority in a chosen space.
Lesson No. 4: Take Care of Customers and Get Good Word of Mouth
One of the ways you build a successful brand is you take care of any customers you get in the door. Now again, that may seem obvious to some. But in practice what that really means is that you should “go over and above” whenever possible for the people who pay you money. Doing that little bit extra helps you develop a great reputation in the market. On a practical level, it will also translate into great word-of-mouth (customers will tell their friends about you), you’ll get testimonials and case studies you can use to sell to new audiences, and even a proof-of-concept that will help you validate the need for your products and services if you had any question. This also means listening to your customers when they have complaints or fixing functionality or processes that frustrate them.
Bottom line: Great brands always serve their customers well. And in doing so, add value to their brand reputation and legacy. That doesn’t mean you’re going to make every customer happy. (Lord knows, some may never be happy.) But if you go to the wall for them, more often than not, people will recognize that.
Lesson No. 5: Pay Attention to Details
If you ask chef Thomas Keller, the proprietor behind French Laundry and Per Se, what the difference is between a good and great meal, he’ll tell you: It’s something he terms finesse – or attention to detail. Why does that matter? Because everyone is doing the big things – let’s say in this case it’s serving fresh food, seasoning it, making it taste good. It’s the little things that are going to define the top brands and make them stand out, such as: creating a beautifully artistic dish, combining flavors others don’t, building a dining experience where every need is taken care of at the right moment, and at the right time. That takes rigor to set up. If you think about marketing, it’s the same thing. It’s the reason why Target encourages audiences to subscribe to its YouTube channel at the end of every video, as that’s a best practice. It’s the reason why Apple only uses one font (SF Pro) and a limited color palette that always reflects the rigor around how the company projects the brand.
In the same vein, paying attention to the needs of customers (such as what we suggested above) also fits here. Maybe that’s you as an owner making a commitment to meet every customer. Maybe it’s a small gift you send customers on their birthdays. Whatever the case, those little things will help you stand out.
The bottom line: The little things will add up to building a bigger brand. And it will be one of the main differentiators for you in the marketplace in a world of average.
Lesson No. 6: Have Patience and Think Long-Term
It’s no secret that many small and midsize business owners would love to grow exponentially overnight and have the biggest brand possible. But you know what? That’s just not realistic in most cases. A lot of the marketing you do requires time for it to take effect. That’s not an excuse. That’s just reality. So, it’s critical to have patience and allow your brand to build over time.
Even those with access to large amounts of capital often don’t simply rush into growing profitably. Consider again, Amazon. The company wasn’t profitable for decades, but its backers knew that long-term, their investment would pay off. You may not have that kind of time horizon, but the big brands never just think about tomorrow’s dollar. They’re thinking about next year’s and the year after – and so on.
The bottom line: If you can, balance your time horizon and your outlook for growth, especially from a marketing standpoint. That means not pouring all your eggs into your lower-funnel basket (focusing only on in-market individuals) as it were. In the end, if you have the patience, you will see a bigger brand boost that will carry your company long into the future.
Need help developing your brand or a marketing strategy catered to your company? Contact us at Marketing Nice Guys. We’ll schedule a free consultation and discuss the best ways we can support your growth. We’re here to help you excel in digital marketing
