Don’t Be a Small, Yappy Dog

Small brands don’t need to shout the loudest — they just need to become the most desired.And that is possible.

Most of our customers are small and medium-sized businesses that all feel the same frustration: market leaders have enormous budgets, distribution, and visibility. Meanwhile, they — and we (Lyll is small too) — have great products, but not the resources to “buy our way” into people’s everyday lives.

A study by Ipsos offers an important insight: growth isn’t only about how visible you are, but about how desired you are.

From “share of voice” to “share of desire”

In marketing, we often talk about Extra Share of Voice (ESOV): if you invest more in communication than your market share, you tend to grow. The problem is obvious — for small brands, this is often unrealistic.

Ipsos therefore suggests a more relevant metric for challengers: Extra Consumer Demand — when your brand is more desired than your market share would suggest. They use the measure Brand Desire (how strongly people actually want your brand compared to others). The finding is clear: when Brand Desire is ahead of market share, sales tend to follow. When it lags behind, the risk of decline increases, and growth becomes harder and more expensive.

Many would rightly call this product-led growth, but in marketing it’s referred to as brand desire.

Small brand superpower: latent potential

Small brands in any category have lower penetration — fewer purchases per year. But that doesn’t mean few people care. Ipsos shows that small brands often have a “gap” between consideration and actual purchase: many people are curious, but friction such as availability, habit, or price leads them to choose the safe option.

That’s the real superpower: you can build desire before you build volume. And when the product delivers and creates the right feeling with the target audience, growth can come quickly.

Three moves that actually work

A playbook for challengers:

1) Be chosen by more of the right peopleStart with a clear niche: a specific audience, occasion, or need. Don’t try to be everything to everyone — be important to the right people. That means daring to say no, so you can build a distinct position that feels relevant and easy to remember.

2) Be chosen more oftenWe’re creatures of habit. We choose brands we trust, like, and feel connected to. Small or new brands win hearts through a clear personality, authenticity, and consistent storytelling.

3) Be easier to chooseDistribution is limited when you’re small, and demand without availability is just good vibes. Make the buying journey as frictionless as possible by being present where decisions are made, and consider options like subscriptions, bundles, or easy reorders.

What does this mean?

If you want to grow as a challenger, ask yourself:Are we more desired than we are big? That ratio is what matters.

If the answer is yes, the job is to convert desire into purchase through better availability, clearer communication, and lower friction — for example, simpler payment.

If the answer is no, you need to build a sharper position before scaling volume. That may require changes to the product or the communication.

Small brands don’t need to shout the loudest. They need to become the choice people want to make.

That’s not always easy. But if you know your customers well — and have the opportunity to ask what made them choose your product (or not) — you’ll find your path to success.

The goal doesn’t have to be becoming the market leader in your category — it can simply be building a truly profitable business.