The 5 Levels of Branding

If you’re new here, every week I share a handful of high-signal bits. Think of them as a clarity espressos.

Let’s get to it:

• Makes-You-Think Tweet: extra(ordinary)
• Mind-Expanding Concept: the 5 levels of branding
• Cool Quote or Question: do you really have a business?
• High-Signal Content: how to increase decision quality

Makes-You-Think Tweet

Mind-Expanding Concept

The 5 levels of branding

You want to build stuff people want. But stuff has levels. And knowing at which level you can and want to play is a cheat code to get to customers. Product and go-to-market decisions based on different levels can yield wildly different outcomes for any given thing.

Here are the 5 levels, distilled by Shaan Puri:

Level 1: you sell a product

You talk about features. The technology du jour - blockchain, AI, etc. - will likely pop up here.

• We're a blockchain-based platform that connects...

• We're a grain merchandising SaaS that uses AI to...

Don't be on level 1. As the cliché goes: people don't care about your product, they care about what the product can do for them. Which brings us to level 2.

Level 2: you sell a solution

You talk about the benefits of using your product. If the customer is the right one, the pain is relatable. We don't like pain.

• Increase your top-of-funnel conversion by +30% by using our platform

• All your team communication, instantly searchable, always available

Level 2 is better but there's room for improvement. Many, if not most products get stuck here.

Level 3: sell a lifestyle

You don't talk about the specifics of the product or your solution. At least not at first. Your cause is more noble. You're not here for the easy buck. You're here to promote part of who you are.

• Don't sell motorbikes, sell the two-wheeler freedom-infused culture & lifestyle

• Don't sell saddles, sell the horseback riding lifestyle. From issue 24:

“Don't talk about the leather softness (and whatever else is important in a saddle), talk about the tradition, the elegance, and the vibes of horseback riding. You're in it not to sell this thing you sit on, you're in it because horseback riding is part of who we are since the dawn of civilization. Suddenly, your company is not focusing (only) on improving the saddle but on helping riders become more of themselves, potentially selling them other products along the way.”

Level 3 is brown belt. If you can reach it, you're in a good spot and the opportunities for portfolio expansion and customer retention are great.

Level 4: sell a feeling

Your stuff makes people feel something unique.

• UFC’s Dana White: "I'm in the business of selling wholly shit moments."

• That's Disney selling magical family moments

• That’s Louis Vuitton selling the feeling of being high-status

Level 4 is big boy stuff. People act because they feel something. If the feeling or emotion is hard to find elsewhere and delivered consistently, that's a gold mine.

Level 5: sell an identity

What is sold becomes part of who people are. It gives them purpose. It influences what they do, discuss, and often what they wear.

• Think sports teams, religions, and political parties.

The whole grail. Portfolio expansion and cross-selling opportunities abound. CLV tends to be infinite.

Cool Quote or Question

High-Signal Content

Annie Duke’s Mental Models for Decision-Making:
1) Make the implicit explicit
2) Think outside of a particular decision
3) Bring others in, but don’t infect the group
4) Don’t fear process, even if you’re trying to go fast
5) Review the good with the bad
6) Make the decision smaller to go faster

See you next week,

Filipe