One of the biggest brand mistakes you can make is to try to appeal to everyone. Therefore, one of the keys to making your brand more powerful is to make it more exclusive. Here’s five ways you can make your brand and your business more exclusive.
1 Invitation Only
Think of the classic country club, or the golf club, where you need an invitation to join. Not everyone can be part of the action. If you’re on the inside, then you have the power to include others or exclude them, by inviting them or not inviting them.
Ask: Would limiting access increase the value to those already members?
2 Knowledge.
If we got together a group of computer geeks in a room and started them talking about what they’re working on, then one of two things would happen. You’d either join in and be part of the conversation. Or, your eyes would probably glaze over and you’d be wondering what planet they are on. This is exclusivity through knowledge and typically through language and jargon. If you don’t know, you don’t belong.
Ask: Is knowledge important to my brand? Can I segment my customers based on knowledge?
3 Price
Price is very exclusive. As much as I might want a Ferrari, because they cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars, I simply can’t afford one. This excludes me from buying one. Honda’s are way more affordable so I drive one of them instead.
Ask: Do I have a premium price? If not, should I create a premium offer?
4 Availability.
I know in the U.S., the Super Bowl, or the same in Australia for the AFL Grand Final there’s only so many tickets to go around. If you’re well connected or one of the lucky ones that gets to be one of those 100,000 tickets, then you get to go to the game. If not, too bad, you have to stay home and watch it on the TV with the rest of the world. The ultimate form of this is the one-off. Think of the price of a Picasso original.
Ask: Is supply limited? What would happen if it was limited?
5 Beliefs
Green Peace is probably one of the great examples here. You may believe and agree with what they’re doing, and therefore, join and align with what they’re doing. Or, you might disagree. So, having that edge comes from including some group of people and excluding others.
Ask: Are our beliefs widely accepted? What would happen if we specialised or niched our viewpoint?
A warning! To apply this to your brand or business you may have to change your offer or positioning. You may have to say ‘no’ to some of your customers. You may have to push prices up. Or limit the quantity. In the short term this may not be popular with everyone. Expect this. And play long-term.
