1. Own one idea in the buyer's mind
Al Ries and Jack Trout, in Positioning (1981), say buyers can hold little about a brand. The brands that win stand for one clear idea and repeat it.
Say a regional safety-shoe maker stops saying it is good in every way. It says only "shoes that last a full factory shift", and repeats it on every ad, brochure and dealer board.
Try this: write one sentence you want buyers to remember. Then check every page and pack for it. Our branding work starts here.
2. Focus beats spread
In Focus (1996), Al Ries argues that a firm that tries to be everything blurs. A narrow focus makes the brand easier to remember, to price and to deliver.
Say an agency for dealers of one machine type drops its "all industries" claim. It gets fewer enquiries, but they fit better.
Try this: list your offers. Drop or hide the one that makes your message fuzzy.
3. Define the need, not the product
Theodore Levitt's Marketing Myopia (Harvard Business Review, 1960) says a firm that thinks it sells a product misses the change when buyers find another way to meet the same need.
Say a printer thinks it sells brochures. The buyer wants a way to show a dealer the full range in two minutes. The printer adds a QR code that opens a short catalogue.
Try this: finish the sentence "Our buyers hire us to..." without naming a product.
4. Be easy to think of, and easy to buy
Byron Sharp, in How Brands Grow (2010), says brands grow by being easy to notice and recall, and easy to find and buy. He argues that you should reach many buyers, not only your fans.
Say a snack brand adds small shops in three more towns and runs one simple, repeated ad. More people recall the name at the shop.
Try this: add one more place where a buyer can find or order you this month.
5. Build assets people recognise
Sharp and Jenni Romaniuk (Building Distinctive Brand Assets, 2018) also stress colours, shapes, characters and sounds that are yours alone. Keep them steady for years.
A real Indian case: the Amul girl mascot first appeared in 1966. Sylvester daCunha created it with illustrator Eustace Fernandes at the agency ASP, and Amul ads have kept a familiar look since. Amul's own statement on the mascot's origin was reported by Storyboard18 in 2025.
Try this: pick one colour, shape or line that is yours. Use it everywhere for a year.
6. Balance brand building and short-term sales
Les Binet and Peter Field, in The Long and the Short of It (2013), say that ads that build the brand and ads that trigger sales do different jobs. A healthy plan funds both.
Say a mattress brand runs a warm brand film for six weeks and keeps a weekend discount ad on search and social.
Try this: split your ad budget into two lines, one for the brand and one for sales. Our performance marketing work keeps both in view.
7. Jobs to be done
Clayton Christensen and his co-authors, in Competing Against Luck (2016), say buyers hire a product to do a job in their life. Find the job, and compete on doing it well.
Say a tiffin service learns that office workers hire it to avoid a lunch-hour queue. It promises delivery by 12:30 at a fixed place.
Try this: ask five buyers what job they hired you for. Use their words in your next ad.
8. Perceived value is not real value
Rory Sutherland, in Alchemy (2019), says what a thing feels like often matters more than its facts. Small changes in how you frame, price or show your offer can change how people choose.
Say a repair shop puts "fixed in 48 hours or free" on its board. Customers feel safe, and the shop works harder on its speed.
Try this: test one change in how you show your offer, such as a guarantee line. Measure what happens.
9. Match the message to what the buyer knows
Eugene Schwartz, in Breakthrough Advertising (1966), describes buyers at different stages: unaware, aware of the problem, aware of solutions, aware of you. A message that fits one stage fails at another.
Say a pump maker writes one page for buyers who do not know their power bill is high, and another for buyers comparing pumps.
Try this: write one page for people who do not know you yet. Our search engine optimisation (SEO) work maps pages to these stages.
10. Make ideas stick
Chip Heath and Dan Heath, in Made to Stick (2007), say ideas stick when they are simple, surprising, concrete, believable, emotional and told as a story.
Say a water-purifier dealer shows a jar of the sediment from one filter, and says what a year of dirty water adds up to.
Try this: tell one concrete story with one clear number.
11. Test, and keep the numbers
Claude Hopkins, in Scientific Advertising (1923), says advertising should be tested like a science. Try small versions, track what comes back, and keep what works.
Say a real-estate brand runs two landing pages for a month, each with its own phone number, and keeps the one that brings more site visits.
Try this: give each offer its own phone number, link or code.
12. Make it affordable and easy to buy
C. K. Prahalad, in The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid (2004), argues that firms can serve people with small budgets. The way is a small, cheap unit that is easy to find.
A real Indian case: CavinKare launched Chik shampoo in sachets at 50 paisa in 1999, according to a case study from the Syracuse University Whitman School. Use only the facts in that source.
Try this: offer a smaller, cheaper pack or a smaller first step, and see who buys it.
How to use these ideas
- Pick two lessons that fit your biggest problem. Do not try all twelve.
- Write the one thing you will try, who owns it and how you will measure it.
- Run it for a few weeks. Keep what works.
- Come back to the list when you plan next quarter.
Think creative. Act on numbers. A good idea from a book becomes useful only when you test it on your own buyers.
