Apples And Oranges
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Finding your place in a market is about understanding who you are before deciding where you belong. A lot of brands rush this step. They look at what’s trending, who seems successful, or what category sounds profitable, and then start shaping themselves to fit inside it. That’s usually how brands end up frustrated, stalled, or constantly reworking things that never quite feel right.
One of the most common mistakes business owners make is comparing themselves to the wrong people. They study brands that don’t share their goals, values, or approach, and then measure themselves against that. Even if two businesses technically “do the same thing,” the way they work, who they’re for, and what they’re built around can be completely different. When you compare yourself to the wrong references, every decision starts pulling you in the wrong direction.
That’s where the most confusion actually comes from. When you’re looking at the wrong brands, it becomes harder to see what’s distinct about you, harder to price yourself, harder to explain what you do, and easier to start copying without realizing it. You start building based on what you think you should look like instead of what makes sense for what you’re building.
At Relative Media, we use a process we call the Echo Check to help brands understand what they’re really surrounded by. It’s how we study the landscape you’re entering, identify who you’re comparable to, and separate real alignment from surface-level similarity. From there, we help you define a position that fits what you do, how you work, and where you’re trying to go. The goal is to make sure you’re not building your brand by comparing apples to oranges.
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