Most businesses, creators, and professionals focus on marketing when they want more attention. They look for better advertising, more social media followers, improved SEO, or the latest growth strategy. But the most successful brands often grow differently. People voluntarily talk about them. A favorite restaurant. An exceptional book. A trusted mechanic. A thoughtful coworker. A business that consistently exceeds expectations. Nobody has to convince people to share these experiences. They do it naturally because something about the experience was memorable enough to be worth mentioning. This type of word-of-mouth growth isn’t an accident. It happens when a product, service, or person delivers value that stands out in a crowded marketplace. In other words, it happens when something becomes remarkable. Let’s explore why remarkable brands spread and how you can build something people genuinely want to talk about.

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What Makes a Brand Remarkable?

I have been very impressed by author and market-man Seth Godin.

Three books of his that have made a big mark on me are: Purple Cow, The Icarus Deception, and Linchpin.

One concept from his books that has gained traction in the marketplace is the need for products or services to be remarkable.

As Seth explores in his research, products and services didn’t always need to be remarkable.

The marketplace wasn’t very crowded and people were more apt to accepting whatever was presented to them.

Unfortunately, that’s not the marketplace we live in anymore.

Why Most Products Are Forgotten

The current, modern marketplace however is crowded. We are bombarded with the next best thing.

Go to any store and you’ll rarely find something truly remarkable.

You may find great or excellent or very good or top-notch, but will you find remarkable?

• Want a pain reliever? Good luck finding one that stands out.
• Want a pair of shoes? Better set some time aside to go through the options.
• Looking for a new read? Start browsing at the A’s.

The marketplace is crowded. Not just for products, but for services as well.

• Need someone to pressure wash your house? Will you sort by reviews or prices?
• Need a new car? Do you prefer haggling or getting it over with?

Very little is remarkable. We see the options, quietly make our unemotional decision, and go on our way without telling a single soul about it.

We don’t tell anyone because we don’t believe what we got was remarkable. It wasn’t worthy of making a remark.

But what about when we do come across something remarkable? What then?

Word of Mouth Is Built Into Great Brands

In a previous post, I told you about hair stylist Sam letting her brand build itself. Her work with our two boys was remarkable. Our only problem with Sam was trying to figure out how we could pay her more for doing such a remarkable job, rare even in the business of hair cutting for kids.

Recently at work, someone made a remark about me.

This person told another person how nice I was in a recent project experience.

They didn’t have to tell a soul about our interaction. It wasn’t necessary and not even the typical type of office conversation fodder that would be expected.

They simply made a remark because that which they experienced was remarkable. It was rare and it was valuable – to them.

Great brands understand this. Their focus is on delivering value to people. So much value, people do their marketing for free.

Remarkable Means Valuable to Someone

To them is the key phrase here.

A product or service that is remarkable is, by nature, rare and valuable to someone. It has to make a connection.

If the product or service doesn’t connect with a person, it simply isn’t remarkable. Or, if the product or service is common and nothing that stands out, it isn’t remarkable.

In the influencer realm or with content creators, you meet two kinds of people. Those who give you some sauce and those who give you their secret sauce.

Usually, the most successful creators give out their secrets. They explain the process that got them where they are. They share exactly how you could directly compete with them. They help people develop themselves and their brand. They share all the secrets while other, usually unknown creatives hold their best information close to the chest out of fear it will be stolen.

It’s certainly rational not to want to divulge the secrets or steps one takes to reach a level of notoriety. But it’s not beneficial.

Successful people know it’s not knowledge or understanding that holds people back. It’s action.

We all know more than enough to get better at any skill. Knowing a thing doesn’t make us compete with those who also know the thing.

It’s what we do with that knowledge. Those who apply their knowledge tend to be the remarkable ones. They stand out because the rest of us simply know a thing rather than do the thing.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

-Michael Jordan

Many times, the person willing to fail by taking the shot becomes the most remarkable. Identify someone’s need and create something of such unique value they can’t help but to make remark about it.

How to Build a Brand People Want to Talk About

• Solve a real problem
• Deliver exceptional value
• Be consistent
• Follow through
• Create memorable experiences
• Help people succeed
• Give people something worth sharing

Final Thoughts

The strongest brands are rarely built through louder marketing.

They are built through remarkable experiences.

When people encounter something genuinely valuable—a product that solves a problem, a service that exceeds expectations, or a person who consistently delivers on their promises—they naturally want to tell others about it.

That’s the power of word of mouth.

You don’t have to convince people to talk about something remarkable. They do it automatically.

The challenge isn’t finding better marketing tactics. The challenge is creating something worth talking about in the first place.

Focus on serving people well. Focus on solving real problems. Focus on becoming known for something valuable.

Do that consistently enough, and your reputation will begin to spread on its own.

Be remarkable. Do remarkable work. Give people a reason to remember you—and a reason to tell someone else.