The Step Change Blog

The latest thinking on business, strategy, marketing and sales

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August 24, 2023

Marketing Budget: How Much Should You Spend on Marketing?

Predatory Marketing, Business Strategy, Branding, Marketing Strategy, Decision Making, Business Growth, Challenger Brands, Alignment, Brand Building, Strategy Frameworks, Brand Positioning, Measures That Matter, Strategic Planning, Brand Saliency

Finalising your budget? 

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May 18, 2023

Invest with Confidence: 6 Questions to Unlock Business Opportunities

Business Strategy, Innovation, Business Growth, Challenger Brands, Customer Centricity, Brand Positioning, Business Opportunities

Ever been let down by a business idea you thought had so much potential? 

The only thing worse than a poorly developed business idea is investing in a poorly developed business idea. Nobody wants to spend time, energy and resources on a product or service that doesn’t fly. So how do you ensure your new business idea is poised to win when it enters the market?

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April 20, 2023

10 Key Business Areas Powered with AI: A Guide for Board Members

Technology, Business Strategy, Artificial Intelligence, Innovation, Decision Making, Digital, Business Growth, Marketing Technology, Marketing Automation, Software, Challenger Brands

What’s all this noise surrounding artificial intelligence? Is AI worth the hype? And how do you even get started? Do these questions sound familiar?

With marketing technology (martech) and AI becoming a critical part of mainstream business strategy, getting the buy-in from the top brass is essential. But lack of understanding, fear of the unknown, ethics, biases, and costs can get in the way. 

So how do you demystify martech and AI and get the ball rolling?

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February 23, 2023

What ChatGPT Doesn’t Know About Brand Salience

Business Strategy, Sales, Ashton Bishop, Artificial Intelligence, Branding, Marketing Strategy, Creativity, Challenger Brands, Brand Building, Differentiation, Distinctive Brand, Brand Positioning, Brand Saliency

UPDATED: As of 23 February 2023

Are you even really running a business if you don’t know what it’s like to fight for recognition in today’s market? Getting attention is one thing. Being unforgettable is another. 

Pay attention to the first brand in your head in a particular situation. Chances are, it’s one with higher brand salience than the rest of its competitors. The good news is you can have that for your brand, too. 

A quick ChatGPT conversation will say brand salience is about awareness, consistency, repetition, relevance, differentiation, emotional connection, and user experience. If you’re a challenger business, AI will mainly tell you that you just have to strive for awareness and consistency. But what does that even mean? And how can you begin to incorporate those elements into your long-term and short-term goals? 

It’s no lie — AI does have a pretty good grasp on ‘what’ you need to be more brand salient. But if you’re looking to get your hands dirty with the ‘hows’ and more importantly, get results, you’ve come to the right place.

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August 23, 2019

What Makes a Unique Value Proposition?

Branding, Marketing Strategy, Challenger Brands

Value is in the eye of the beholder. In a world teeming with new product offerings, a critical question we need to ask today is: in a sea of undifferentiated offerings, how do we make our product or service stand out so people will buy from us?

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July 11, 2019

What Is Challenger Brand Marketing?

Marketing Strategy, Challenger Brands

Are you a challenger brand looking for the right marketing strategy that can help you stand out from market leaders in your industry?  We take a look at challenger brand marketing and how adopting a challenger mindset in your category can set you up to win. 

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June 7, 2019

8 Examples of Challenger Brands in Australia

Challenger Brands

Standing out as a brand in a noisy market is next to impossible. If you’re not Amazon or Google or Apple, then your brand could drown in the sea of brands trying to win the war for attention. That is unless you adopt the challenger mindset.

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May 31, 2019

What Is a Challenger Brand?

Marketing Strategy, Challenger Brands

Challenger brands don’t spend the money that market leaders do for promotion, R&D, or operations. So how do successful challengers outperform market leaders even with scarce resources?

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May 10, 2019

Brand Building: Your Guide To Distinctive vs Differentiated Brands

Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Branding, Marketing Strategy, Challenger Brands, Brand Building, Differentiation, Distinctive Brand

UPDATED: As of 25 August 2022

Should brands aim to be different or distinctive? What is the difference between the two, and how do these strategies add value to the branding equation? We take a closer look at shared evidence and form our own conclusions on why distinctiveness stumps differentiation.

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October 23, 2018

How Successful Companies Use Data-Driven Audience Insights to Boost Their Bottom Line

Digital, Challenger Brands

With AI and big data, you can gain a better understanding of how your target buyers consume data. Learn how these five companies were able to use data-driven insights to be more relevant to their target audience.

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