When it first started, real-estate platform Commissions Inc faced a problem many tech companies have: The team needed a cloud-based email delivery system with powerful insights into deliverability. It also needed a solution that would scale easily as the company grew.
Commissions Inc needed an invisible solution. It found SendGrid — a company you’ve probably never heard of — that provides enterprise-level email support for huge companies all over the world.
On the surface, an invisible brand seems like an oxymoron. In the cluttered online ecosystem, brands are encouraged to tell their story on social media, blogs, and at conferences to get as much attention as possible.
But if you look closely, you’ll find that some of the most successful B2B brands are actually the “invisible” ones. They provide a reliable product or service that’s so seamless that the consumer never even notices it.
When Staying Invisible Can Work for Your Brand
The secret to being a strong invisible brand lies in forming partnerships with strong visible brands and providing world-class solutions that serve the end consumer.Here are a few ways staying invisible can benefit your company:
- Brand equity meets invisible expertise. Startups and other small companies usually have something that larger brands don’t: agility. Startups understand changing market trends and can act on them faster than larger companies. Leveraging big companies’ brand equity with your knowledge creates a win-win for everyone.
- Your reputation speaks for itself. When you provide high-quality solutions for your customers, they’ll share their experiences. You can use this positive word of mouth in testimonials and case studies to form new partnerships.
The key to a great invisible brand is always providing quality solutions for your customers. When you’re the best in the industry, you won’t have to shout your brand story from the rooftops; other people will spread the word for you.
How to Go Invisible
You’re probably wondering how to stay “invisible” while also growing your company. After all, startups are usually laser-focused on gaining visibility. Being invisible (and making money doing it) is all about building an unbeatable solution.
- Understand your partners’ pain points. You’ll find that struggles in one company aren’t isolated. There’s a good chance that if one company has a problem, other companies across the industry wrestle with the same issue.
- Develop your own proprietary products. Make sure they solve the problem for less than your customers would spend developing their own solutions.
- Build trust. Remember that potential clients are taking a risk on you when they allow you to represent their brand. Prove that you can be trusted by highlighting the unique value of your solution.
- Focus on customization. Show how your solution can be customized to fit your partners’ needs. Just ensure they understand that it’s a two-way street. You can only solve their problems if they communicate with you.
- Market to the right audience. You may be invisible to your clients’ end users, but that doesn’t mean you’re invisible to everyone. Use email marketing, social media, and thought leadership to attract the attention of your target customers and build upon that invisible expertise.
The key to invisibility is focusing on developing an exceptional product or service that creates a seamless experience for the end user that speaks for itself. You don’t have to capture everyone’s attention, but you do have to pay attention to the needs of your target audience and work on delivering a product that meets their needs.
Jason Kulpa is the CEO of Underground Elephant, one of the fastest-growing performance-based providers of online marketing technology and customer acquisition solutions. Servicing multiple industries, including auto insurance, post-secondary education, health insurance, and home services, Underground Elephant provides unparalleled cloud-based SaaS marketing technology and platforms that deliver bankable calls, clicks, and inquiries. To learn more about SendGrid visit their website.
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