Amica's CMO follows a key principle from Donald Miller's "Building a StoryBrand": the customer is always the hero. The brand's role is to act as the trusted guide, providing the tools and support the protagonist (the customer) needs to overcome their challenges and succeed. This keeps the focus on customer-centric storytelling.

To truly change a brand's narrative, marketing's 'talking the talk' is insufficient. The product experience itself must embody the desired story. This 'walking the walk' through the product is the most powerful way to shape core brand perception and make the narrative shareable.

Many companies mistakenly believe their brand story is about their founding or product features. The most compelling narrative, however, is about the audience you serve, the problems you solve for them, and how their life is improved as a result of your work.

Instead of crafting a story internally, ask your best customers what they say about you to others. Their organic language reveals what's truly interesting, memorable, and different about your brand, providing a powerful, market-tested narrative.

Everyone has a personal brand, whether intentional or not. The key is to close the gap between how you see yourself and how others perceive you. Proactively define what you want to be known for, then consistently communicate and demonstrate that brand to prevent misunderstandings and career stagnation.

Reposition your branding efforts away from self-glorification ("personal branding") and toward elevating your entire market ("market eminence"). This focus on industry-wide improvement attracts a wider range of stakeholders, including partners, investors, and acquirers, who are drawn to a mission larger than just you.

New businesses, especially in service industries, often focus so much on clients that they neglect their own brand. The key is to treat your own company as your first client, sweating the details of your strategy, positioning, and story before anything else.

Brands, especially founder-led ones, mistakenly make their own journey the focus of their story. The most effective brand narrative positions the target audience as the hero, with the brand acting as a guide or tool that helps them succeed. The story is about them, not you.

In a crowded market, brand is defined by the product experience, not marketing campaigns. Every interaction must evoke the intended brand feeling (e.g., "lovable"). This transforms brand into a core product responsibility and creates a powerful, defensible moat that activates word-of-mouth and differentiates you from competitors.