Why Brands Don't Matter Anymore

When I was a kid, I remember going to the store with my dad to buy tools and other things. To me it made sense to get the cheapest one or maybe the biggest one, but to my dad the brand name was everything.

"No, son, I've never heard of that one," he would say. "We'll go with the name brand."

Think about the last purchase you made. You went to a search engine, checked out reviews, asked your buddies on Twitter, and maybe even visited few comparison-shopping sites.

Most likely your purchase was influenced by what countless others said was the way to go -- regardless of brand name or even brand recognition.

Now, I'm not suggesting that having a strong brand isn't a good thing; I'm merely saying it's not enough anymore. The Internet and access to information has leveled the playing field to the point where a no name with a better collection of raving fans can compete with the largest brands in any industry.

So, in addition to developing a reputation for great products and services, here's what really matters today:

The stories told in small groups matter. We love stories, and we particularly love stories we can rally around. Few things are more compelling than a story about couple of guys deciding they could create a cleaning products company like Method right under the nose of an industry giant like Proctor and Gamble and win.

The ratings found on countless sites matter. Decisions are made every day about hotels, restaurants, and plumbers based on the reviews of patrons found on sites like Google Places or Yelp! You can tell real reviews that come from real fans because they talk about the real stuff that we care about -- the little things. They talk about the people that work there as much, or more than, they talk about the products and services. Even large brands like RotoRooter can live and die by the review.

The page one results matter. It's not enough that a search for your business turns up your website -- let's hope so. What's equally important is that it turns up an entire digital presence. You need to own page one for a direct search on your firm like Niner Bikes does. You need to be there for your site, your social networks, your reviews, your community involvement, and your awards.

The blog comments matter. Direct conversations with clients about your products, about your people, and about the things your company stands for are going to show up in comments on blogs. Chris Brogan, an online business consultant, routinely gets hundreds of comments to each blog post. That's where his story is made. Your blog, industry blogs, competitive blogs -- this is a fire you must start and grow; this is the real conversation.

The shares, +1s, and likes matter. Sentiment is one of the hottest measurements online these days and it's a marker of true loyalty. Do people talk about your brand in the language of likes, shares, and pluses? Not in the false trumped up "Become a fan and win" kind of way, but rather the voluntary kind of sharing that a company like the Natural Running Store enjoys. These are the new currencies of marketing success and demonstrate the true value of a strong brand even if you've never heard of them yet.