09/08/2026
Being seen isn’t the same as being remembered & being remembered isn’t enough either
Your brand needs to come to mind in the right buying situations. And for that to happen, we need to create mental availability 😎 & what’s that, you ask me…
Well, Byron Sharp defines mental availability as the probability that a buyer will:
* notice your brand
* recognise your brand
* think of your brand
when they are in a buying situation.
It depends on the quantity and quality of the memory structures connected to the brand. In other words, how many relevant things make someone think of you, and how strong those associations are.
You know when someone you know sees something and thinks of you? That’s a mental association. And you want your brand to trigger that association in your buyer, when it’s time to buy. So you build your brand beforehand, before they need you, but making sure they do think of you when the time comes.
This is why mental availability is not simply:
* brand awareness
* being visible
* being “top of mind” generally
* people liking the brand
* having a recognisable logo
* posting consistently
A person may know that your business exists but still not think of you when they need what you sell.
Category Entry Points, or CEPs, are the needs, situations, motivations and triggers that cause someone to enter a category.
They are the thoughts that happen before someone starts looking for a provider.
For example, a business owner probably doesn’t wake up thinking:
“I would love to hire a strategic marketing partner today.”
They might think:
“Our business has outgrown our brand.”
“Our marketing feels inconsistent.”
“We have grown through referrals, but we need a more reliable pipeline.”
“We need someone senior to take ownership of our marketing.”
“Our website no longer represents the business we’ve become.”
Those are the mental doorways into the marketing category.
The role of marketing is to connect your brand to those doorways before the buyer reaches them.
For you to think about… When the need for your service appears, what will help buyers remember your name? 🧐
PK Creative Australia | Marketing for finance & professional services
