What happens when your customers get tired of you? At that point, chances are you are in significant peril as a brand and business. You will find it difficult to assert yourself in your industry and target market, ceding ground to competitors who can offer your audience a better version of those relations, stories, and magic.

At its core, it's usually a branding problem…

One cold, January morning, a young man in a baseball cap walked to a local subway station in Washington. He pulled out his violin, and, over the next 45 minutes he played his heart out, playing five of the most complex pieces of music ever written. Over a thousand people walked past. It was morning rush hour.

But no one took much notice. A few people stopped and threw a couple of dollars into his open violin case. One child yanked on his mommy’s hand and told her he wanted to stay to listen to the “cool music,” but they ended up staying only a few minutes. He counted the money he made - a total of $32.17. How ironic, given that the young man was none other than Joshua Bell, a Grammy award winner and one of the world’s most accomplished musicians.

Take a look at this great old vintage ad I found on the internet. My how times have changed — and advertising along with it!

But some things haven’t changed in advertising, namely, the same basic human desires need to be fulfilled today just as much as they did 50 or even 150 years ago: better health, improved appearance, praise from others, social advancement…

The great late writer Maya Angelou, who passed away this week, had this great quote to say which applies to your business marketing as much as it does to our lives:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”