It is very important for brands to build mindshare as a first step toward market share. I will begin with a personal example of this. The majority of my clients approach me in the following manner: "I heard you speak at the XYZ conference. After that, I bought your Brand Aid book. I refer to it so often that many of its pages are dog-eared. I have been following your blog for X number of years. And now I have this brand problem. I like the way you think. I knew you could help me with this." That is called mindshare. When your brand is top-of-mind associated with a specific need, benefit or category, or better yet, when it has totally consumed someone's thoughts regarding that need, benefit or category, that is called mindshare.
Here are some other examples. Remember when Amazon.com was first introduced? Everyone was talking about it. Jeff Bezos was on the front cover of numerous magazines and you could not pick up a periodical without reading something about Amazon.com. Consider Tesla Motors today. The Tesla Model S earned a perfect 100 rating by Consumer Reports and has been the buzz of almost every other automotive magazine. Elon Musk has achieved celebrity status and has been interviewed by dozens of periodicals. Or, how about Donald Trump? Watch any news network, Democratic or Republican leaning, and the presidential candidate that dominates the news is Donald Trump. He seems to be sucking up every other GOP presidential candidate's oxygen.
Strong brands must develop mindshare. This typically requires a superior product with a great story to tell but equally as important is the daily blocking and tackling of being in front of people, communicating with them, interacting with them, entertaining them and giving them something of value. The old saying "familiarity breeds contempt" is not generally true. In fact, familiarity usually leads to mindshare and liking. Find as many ways as possible to keep your brand in front of its customers and potential customers day after day.
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