To build and maintain a powerful brand, we look to strengthen the four pillars of branding: Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem, and Knowledge. In this post, i’ll be explaining the importance of each pillar and how brands use each one to give momentum to their Brand Flywheel.

I’m using the Brand Asset Valuator model as a basis for this post. For more on the BAV model, check out this article.

Differentiation

Differentiation means “what makes you different” from other companies or organizations. What’s your Raison D’etre? What is your value proposition? Sure, you deliver a product or service, but how is it different from others’ products?

I like to think about what someone might say about a product when you’re not in the room (to paraphrase Jeff Bezos). What would someone say about the product? How would they describe your service? They might say, “It’s sort of like X, but Y.” The Y here is that which makes you different.

To add momentum to your Brand Flywheel, you will want to fully understand the difference and consider it in all of your ad copy. You’ll need to know why the difference delights and inspires your customers. You’ll want to have stories available about customers who discovered the difference and how it changed their lives for the better. You’ll want to make sure that this difference aligns with your organization’s core values.

Relevance

Relevance refers to how applicable your product or service is to your customers. Is this something that they genuinely want or need? Does it align with their values? Now we’re getting into the minds of your customers. We want to know about their pain points and the decision-making process for alleviating this pain. Knowing about the psychological state of your customers when they originally sought you out is incredibly important.

When we consider your Brand Flywheel, we’ll want to understand the marketplace as well as the internal motivations of your ideal clients. If you are selling electric vehicles, consumers are drawn to them for a variety of reasons, including the environment, the desire to drive fast, the “newness” of the technology, and the low noise. Things may change at some point and gas prices may become a massive pain point for consumers. This external force would drive up consumer demand for EVs from a completely different angle.

Brands should seek clarity on an ongoing basis on the relevance of their product so they can align their messaging to reinforce the message that their product or service is important and eases painful stimuli.

Esteem

Brands with high esteem can withstand setbacks and still emerge with a good reputation. People hold brands in high regard because they stay true to their brand promise and consistently deliver high quality goods and services. To be in high esteem, brands must listen to concerns and respond in kind.

Brands can build Flywheel momentum by focusing attention on their care and attention to detail. From packaging design to customer service, brands build loyalty by being true to their north star, their WHY.

Knowledge

In order to build brand loyalty, companies must find a way to become top-of-mind when it comes to solving a pain point or otherwise resolve cognitive dissonance in a consumer’s mind. If the floor looks dirty after sweeping, a person might reach for a bottle of Mop & Glo under the sink because their mom always used it and raved about how it made her floors shine.

To build Flywheel momentum with Knowledge, brands need to show up where current and potential customers hang out. They need to provide relevant messaging that helps consumers understand what sets them apart. Brands should have a keen understanding of consumer habits and desires so they can address these in advertisements, public relations, social media posts, and everywhere else. Keeping messaging simple with one underlying point will ease the process of building knowledge where it’s most highly valued: deep in the unconscious mind of their target customers.