You know what I have found interesting about each of these scenarios: the person doing the talking isn’t the one with the best ideas, they simply have the biggest mouths. The same is true about brands.

Those brands that plaster their name over everything, that pull publicity stunts to gain media attention, that spend and spend and spend on advertising … they often aren’t the ones with the best ideas. They simply have the biggest mouths/budgets. And that’s not really a sustainable competitive advantage.

Listening, ahh, now there’s the key to a great brand. Listen to your customers, discover what they want and need. Find out their likes and dislikes. Let them sing your praises. Let them be openly critical of you. And once you’re done soaking it all up, deliver what they want and listen some more. Small businesses and medium-sized companies can be great at this, and it makes you so much more likeable, memorable and trustworthy than your blowhard competitors.

And we all know people do business with brands and companies they like.