Suffering from greener grass syndrome: you think big is better?

When you’re a start up or small brand trying to compete, it’s easy to look at established players and think they have it so easy because they have the big (bigger) budgets.

The catch is that the established brands have standards and norms to uphold. Not to mention layers of approvals to navigate. They have a reputation they’re known for so they can’t take chances (or so they think).

Because of their size they can’t adapt as quickly as a smaller upstart like you. When you’re small, you have a friend in your nimbleness. If what you try doesn’t work you can quickly pivot and try something else. You can respond to trends. You can quickly embrace feedback from your customers.

So it’s a myth that you need a big budget to have an outsized impact. In fact, that can make you lazy.

When you’re the same as everyone else you are forced to rely on a big budget to fund the ads required to shout louder than everyone else. It’s a losing game for smaller brands (and I’d argue not nearly as fun).

When you lack a big budget you have to rely heavily on the power of your idea. There’s no hiding behind the gloss afforded by a big budget. A great idea simply executed is far more powerful than glitzy banality.

In the age of algorithms, apathy and mediocrity, your idea is what matters. It’s what rises you above the sea of sameness.

Because while conformity is rewarded in the short term, being different will win you hearts and minds. You’re building your brand because you have something unique to offer. Why water it down to fit in?

You have to deliver difference to win. These two effects explain why:

Have you heard of the Von Restorff effect? Discovered in the 1933 by Psychiatrist Hedwig von Restorff. It’s a phenomenon in which what’s different is what’s remembered. If you’re just like everyone else, you’re forgettable. But the easier you make your brand to connect with and do business with and create positive associations, the more memorable you become. It starts by embracing what makes you weird and different. Which yes, takes bravery, but not necessarily a big budget.

As a small brand or start-up, bravery is your secret weapon.

Combine this with the ‘Mere Exposure’ effect. People might not like your weirdness at first. Early adopters, yes, but the majority, no. That’s because we prefer what’s comfortable and familiar. Yet the more we’re exposed to something, the more we begin to like it. Embrace your weirdness consistently. It’ll begin to feel ‘normal’ and desired by more and more people.

So embrace your weirdness. Be brave. Don't water down your brand to fit in. That's the sports car edge us small fry have over those lumbering 18-wheelers. Use it.

Are you interested in a free one-hour marketing brainstorm? Reach out here and we’ll riff on what’s working and not working. You’ll leave with some actionable insights to ignite your thinking.