The Secret to a Strong Branding Message? Focus.
By Adam Kleinberg
Marketing leaders are hustlers. We wear many hats. We're like the chameleons of the business world, adapting to whatever we need to be at any given moment in time. It is no wonder so many of us struggle when our ventures gain critical mass and it comes time to focus our brand.
Your customer's mind has room for you to be one thing. One. That matters, because the mind of your customer is where your brand actually lives. Not in your headquarters. Not on your website. Not in your PowerPoint deck.
Five things? You don't get them. Three? Also no. Tell your customer you are three things and what you have really told them is that you are nothing. Tell them you are three things your competitors already claim, and you have told them something worse than nothing.
- A mar-tech company that promises it finds the right people at the right time in the right place is telling the market nothing.
- A cybersecurity firm that promises it keeps the hackers out is telling the market nothing.
- An e-commerce brand whose line reads "Shop. Click. Enjoy." is telling the market nothing.
Your one thing is the unique value your brand delivers. Volvo keeps you safe. IBM is building a smarter planet. 7-Up is the uncola.
Nobody asked your customer what you want to be. They walk through life and they perceive things. They are not perceiving you a certain way to be difficult. They are human, and perceiving is what humans do. We size up every person we meet, and customers size up every company they meet the same way.
The temptation to be everything to everyone is real. It might even close a few deals this quarter. What it costs you is the long game: the impression your brand leaves on the collective consciousness of every customer you hope to reach.
Positioning is the art of sacrifice. You give up the many things you could be in order to uncover the one thing you should be.
And here comes the objection. "But we do more than one thing! We have more than one kind of customer!"
Right. And IBM doesn't?
Relax. Your one thing is a prism, not a box. It refracts. It can read differently across lines of business and across customer types, as long as every one of those messages ladders up to a single value your company provides.
So what makes a one thing powerful? Run yours through this four-point litmus test before you commit to it.
First, it has to work on the heart and the head. Your core message needs an emotional side and a rational side, because people are driven by both. Make no mistake about that. An idea as plain as "Volvo makes cars that are safe" lands on both levels at once.
Second, it has to be believable. I could stand here and announce that Adam is the next President of the United States. Wish me luck getting you to buy it.
Third, it has to matter to a real group of potential customers. No market opportunity, no position worth owning. I might run the only lemonade stand on Mars, which is a gorgeous piece of positioning, right up until you notice there are no thirsty Martians.
Fourth, it has to be simple. If people cannot understand your one thing, remember it, and repeat it, then it is too complicated. Too complicated means it never finds a home in your prospect's mind. And that, remember, is where your brand lives.
A version of this article by Adam Kleinberg was originally published in Entrepreneur on March 29, 2013.
Adam Kleinberg has been CEO and a founding partner of Traction since 2001. He has written over 100 articles in publications like AdAge, Adweek, Fast Company, Forbes, Mashable and Digiday and spoken at dozens of industry conferences. He's led Traction to win Agency of the Year awards from AdAge, ANA B2 Awards, CampaignUS, and in 2025, he was recognized as one of the Campaign 40 Over 40 game-changers in marketing and advertising. He is also the author of "Tai Chi for Business" on Substack.
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