When building a brand, you may rely on what you see as your strengths. But that leaves
you blind or vulnerable to weaknesses that can have negative impacts on your brand.
Conversely, identifying and addressing shortcomings create opportunities to build a more
resilient brand.
“Try to look at your weakness and convert it into your strength. That’s success.” – Zig Ziglar
In 2013, a successful DVD distribution service, Netflix, launched a platform to compete
against the Blockbuster model. Unfortunately, the other major media companies like
Comcast, Sky, and Amazon were able to leverage their size and strength to crush the
physical DVD market by introducing streaming options. They could avoid the cost of
shipping and the logistics associated with the process that Netflix was based on. Thankfully
Netflix was still a young company with the ability to shift quickly to the market needs of the
consumer. Due to being nimble and willing to try new outlets, they were able to develop
streaming services and original content, which led to Netflix becoming the powerhouse of
the industry.
One popular business planning and strategy method is to use a SWOT analysis. By using
this method, you identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that pertain to
your business. This is often a very lengthy and tedious process, although to be effective, you
can start on a smaller scale to jumpstart the process. Here are a few quick questions and
tasks to see if you can turn your weaknesses into strengths in order to stand out.
How to Recognize and Improve Upon Weaknesses |
• Write a list. Knowing your weaknesses within your organization helps to write a list
of goals you did not reach and the why behind the shortcomings. How can you improve
on the items that you might have fallen short on?
• Ask for feedback. Your best resources are your past and current clients. The feedback
that you will receive can be invaluable in your journey to make positive changes with a
huge impact. If it’s more helpful, you can even create an online survey for those to
complete on their time.
• Analyze your data. Now that you have gathered all your data and feedback, you can
easily identify your weaknesses and the reason behind them. You can learn a lot about
your competitors and the market. Be sure to research what is occurring in the market
that could positively or negatively affect your company’s future. Don’t forget to reflect
to see if there is something that your competitors are doing better and see how you
can improve on that.
Now that you have an idea of your weaknesses within the organization, you will be able to
use this knowledge and data as a springboard toward making them your strengths!
How to Define Your Strengths |
• What you do best. What are the items on your brag board for your organization? This
is usually made up of everything that you enjoy and do best!
• Comparison. Sometimes comparison is the thief of joy, but in this case, it is helpful to
see what others are offering in your industry.
• Offerings. What do you offer that others do not? Write those down and use them in
your toolkit.
How to Use Your Strengths to Stand Out |
• Marketing. Never miss a moment to highlight your strengths in your marketing
campaigns. It is simple and easy to include internally and externally in your
organization’s communication strategy.
• Public Relations (PR). Let the world know that you know your strengths and that you
can stand behind them with data and knowledge. Deploying a press release is a quick
way to deliver your messaging and truly highlight your unique offerings.
• Website copy. More than ever, the copy that you use on all digital platforms, including
social media and your website, is vital to standing out in the market. Don’t forget to
use keywords that make what you do best.
Businesses and organizations change almost as rapidly as each market and industry. You
should participate in this type of exercise yearly, so you are staying on top of your goals
and leveraging your strengths to stand out!