Your prospect's brain has one slot for you

Your business will only be known for ONE thing.

Most founders and marketers get this wrong.

They try to build a brand that is known for every possible solution and service they provide.

It's why most B2B messaging sounds so vague:

"We're the single source of truth"
"Everything you need in one place"
"Leading solution"

Messaging like that is trying to be known for everything instead of one thing.

And it's why messaging like that doesn't convert.

People won't remember that your IT firm does managed services, help desk support, cybersecurity, cloud services, network management, data management, software development, and IT consulting.

They won't remember that your branding agency does brand strategy, brand architecture, brand messaging, brand design, marketing strategy, content strategy, content creation, websites, and SEO.

That's not how the human brain works.

Positioning Psychology 101

Your reptilian brain acts as your brain's bouncer.

It filters every stimuli that comes in through your five senses and immediately categorizes everything.

Friend or foe.
Helpful or harmful.
Threat or opportunity.

This isn't some kind of complex categorization. Your reptilian brain doesn't create subcategories or tries to fit one stimuli into multiple categories.

One stimuli = one category

So when a prospect hits your brand, either through your website, content, marketing materials, or a trusted friend refers you, their brain categories you immediately.

And they place you in ONE category.

This is why trying to be known for everything does work.

Our brains literally cannot categorize your business multiple ways. We won't remember you for the laundry list of solutions you provide.

It's also why vague categorization ("single source of truth," "everything IT") doesn't work.

Those categories are too broad to understand.

One category. That's all you get.

How to Choose Your One Thing

So, how do you determine the ONE thing you want to be known for?

There are three criteria I use at Shft and with my clients:

Step 1: What makes you different

Figure out the ONE thing you do that your competitors can't or won't.

Being known for that one thing will make it easier for customers to choose you when they are searching for the type of solution you provide.

Step 2: What category do you play in

Understand how customers already categorize you.

The easiest answer is to look at what you sell.

IT firms get categorized as IT. Branding agencies get categorized as branding. IoT developers get categorized as IoT.

Define an existing category people already know.

Trying to be a category of one in a category you create won't help. That category doesn't exist in people's minds yet.

Step 3: Your Core, Easy to Sell Offer

Consider your core or first step offer.

For example, Shft's core (and first step) offer is a brand strategy.

We do far more than just brand strategy: brand architecture, brand naming, brand messaging, brand design, websites, marketing strategy, content strategy, some content creation.

But, every client has to start with a brand strategy.

We won't pump out a brand design and website if you haven't gone through a brand strategy with us.

Can you guess what ONE thing Shft is known for?

Brand Strategy

Because once I sell you on a brand strategy, upselling you on everything else you need is easier.

Choose Your ONE Thing

Your ONE thing is found in one of those steps or a combination of them.

The goal is to match your ONE thing with what your ideal customers search for when looking for a solution like yours.

For Shft, we know our ideal customers search for branding help when they are ready for the type of work we do.

It wouldn't make sense for us to be known for marketing or content, even though we do offer those services, because businesses looking for LinkedIn ads or a marketing strategy aren't ready to do the deep work that comes with a brand strategy.