In yesterday’s post, I introduced a powerful technique to help you get the attention of your audience and make your brand more desirable through positive comparison. The benefit of this technique is that it ensures the value of what you are offering is understood. The brain habitually seeks familiarity—and familiarity feels safe.

Today, I promised to share some easy fill-in-the-blank methods to help you compare yourself (your company, product, offering etc.) to something your audience can relate to.

Fill-in-the-blanks:

We are the ______ in our category.

The blank is another brand you compare yourself to that carries the associations you want your brand to be known for.

A classic example is ‘We are the Cadillac in our category’

People have a perception of what Cadillac means. The brand is associated with being premium and stylish. By connecting your brand to a known brand you instantly position yourself in a clear and compelling way.

This assumes of course that your audience thinks and feels the way you want them to about whatever you are comparing yourself to.

Another fill in the blank you can use is:

We are like _____ in these ways, but are different in these important ways _____.

This technique compares your brand with a competitive offering, which the audience likely understands, but then ensures you stand out from them. This technique reinforces how you are similar, which builds familiarity and eases the anxiety of the buyer, and then informs them how you are unique.

An example of this can be found on the website of a highly successful Credit Union based locally in Kitchener/Waterloo. They highlight how they are similar to other financial institutions and then they highlight their differences.

Anchoring your brand to a known entity is the fastest way into the brain. People will compare your brand to something. It’s your responsibility as a marketer to make the connections for prospects. If you do you, it will increase the interest level in your brand or offering as if the flood gates opened and a stampede of buyers came running to your door eager to learn more about your offer.