Resist Becoming a Commodity

There is increasing evidence that brands are being driven out of the middle and into two categories: either you are a discount brand competing on price or you are a premium brand competing on quality and brand loyalty. For example, Wal-Mart competes on price, and Neiman Marcus competes on quality. The big losers are the brands that attempt to stay in the middle of the road, neither premium brand nor discount brand. They become a commodity, which means customers will jump if a competitor offers a lower price or a better product. It is a hard place to be. A sure sign is that your salespeople keep requesting lower and lower prices in order to make a sale. Building a brand can help keep you from being a commodity.