What Strategies Can make Your Branding and Messaging STAND OUT?

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It is noise. Yes, it is. And it has always been there.

People blamed TV. Then?the Internet. Then Social Media?and communication tools.?There will be something else later.

Here's a story?that I?heard, rewrote, and used in speeches to underline one specific point. Read on.

Do you know CAESAR?

At 23, Julius Caesar was a junior politician on the rise. Caesar had an advantage: confidence, brains, and a can-do attitude.?

Once, when sailing across the Aegean Sea, he was captured by Sicilian pirates.

They demanded a ransom: 20 talents of silver (about $600,000 in today's money).

Caesar laughed out loud.

He told them they were being ridiculous and said he would not allow himself to be ransomed so cheaply.

Total confusion reigned amidst all the pirates! What was going on? What is this guy telling?

Caesar insisted?his ransom must be raised?to 50 talents of silver (about $1.5 million).

Typically, the captives negotiate a much lower rate and then try to escape. And this guy, Caesar, is asking us to increase the initial asking rate by three times.?The pirates didn't know what to make of this, but if he said he would double the ransom, why argue??They let Caesar's men go back to Rome to raise the money.

In Rome, in his absence, Caesar suddenly became very famous. No one had ever been ransomed for such a vast sum before.

He must be very special, he must be?incredibly important.?That ransom demand put Caesar on the political map.

The Veblen effect is when consumers perceive higher-priced goods to be worth more simply because they cost more.

Caesar had effectively made himself a Veblen brand.

He had placed a value on himself greater than anyone in Rome. As far as anyone in Rome knew, it wasn't Caesar who had set it. The pirates did it!? It was an independent valuation. So it must be true.

?

Caesar was now so highly valued that his men had little trouble raising the ransom?money! They returned to the island and freed him.?

Caesar wouldn't allow the pirates to keep that sort of money.

As a now important and famous man, it was easy to raise a force. He hunted down the pirates, took back all the money and everything else they had pillaged, and then executed them all.

So Caesar was now both wealthy and very famous.

And in time, with that same combination of confidence and brains, he became ruler of the Roman empire.

Caesar knew that reality begins in the mind.

The human mind is the most valuable piece of real estate to stake a claim.

You stake a claim in the mind by creating a perception.

?You create that perception by controlling the context.

?Control the context, and you control the mind.

?Control the mind, and you control reality.?

**

YOUR CUSTOMERS AND YOUR MICRO-MARKET PROSPECTS ARE YOUR REAL ESTATE.

YOU NEED TO OWN THAT SPACE.

YOUR BRAND MUST SEED THAT REAL ESTATE.

AND WATER IT CONTINUOUSLY.

Key Points:

1. How People Remember You:

* What's your first impression? Digitally and physically.

* Are they in sync? Do you know who you are? For whom?

* Anchoring: Be the first piece of information that solves their pain point.

2. What do they remember about you? Positioning Matters:

* Don't get stuck in a rut.

* Primacy Effect: Make the initial impression count.

3. Am I Plan A or Plan B? Staying Top of Mind:

* Create content consistently.

* Ensure you're part of the consideration set. Plan A or B—be in the plan.

4. The Veblen Effect - Pricing and Value:

* Price yourself premium.

* Deliver value consistently. Don't get desperate.

5. Give me something now!?Instant Gratification:

* Provide immediate value.

Standing out is temporary. Unless done with consistency, chipping away, it fades.

Learn more about Vertical Moat building here.

Your Call To Action:

Seize your real estate.?

Create perceptions.?

Control contexts.?

Deliver value.

STAND OUT!

#differentiation #psychology #social #community #marketing #lessismore #outliermarketing #pointofdifferentiation #outlier #painpoint

I am an outlier marketer and a raconteur.

"HOW TO GET MORE TESTIMONIALS?" If you'd like to know more, write to?Outlier @pravinshekar.com

My books are available at www.pravinshekar.com/books