When thinking about your brand, it pays to consider what’s truly at its core.

The strongest brands are built on fundamental truths that have to do with what they actually do and why, rather than the surface details that first spring to mind.

There’s a seemingly simple, yet surprisingly deep, question to ask: What business are you really in? The answer can profoundly impact both brand and business strategy.

Two examples show why this question matters: Apple and Amazon.

Apple isn’t really a technology company

In the mid-1990s, Apple was going to market as one might expect. It cast itself as a computer company, making technologically superior hardware and software. Its entire marketing strategy was built on the products themselves.

In 1997 Steve Jobs returned as CEO and embarked on a radical transformation of the brand that ultimately yielded the Apple we know today. While on the surface the push had to do with product innovation, arguably the underlying big idea behind it all was that Apple isn’t really a computer company at heart: it’s a lifestyle company. The products are simply the means to an end.

Looked at through this lens, the entire arc of the Apple brand for the last quarter century snaps into sharp focus. Every product, from the iPod and iTunes, to the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and the MacOS, contributes to a deeply intertwined, increasingly seamless and incredibly sticky digital lifestyle.

The brand has been carefully curated to play into this big idea. With every new product release there’s talk of the latest features, performance improvements and innovations, but at the heart of it all is the experience that Apple products deliver: the lifestyle.

Amazon isn’t really an online retailer

Another great example of a counterintuitive big idea driving a brand is Amazon. To most people the Amazon brand is synonymous with online retail, even though its online retail business brings in less revenue than B2B offerings such as Amazon Web Services and support for third-party merchants. But despite the public perception, at the core Amazon isn’t a retailer: it’s a distribution company.

Domestic competitors like Walmart and overseas outlets such as AliExpress have tried to replicate Amazon’s retail success, but haven’t really made all that much of a dent. Amazon is somehow different, and that difference is the smoothness and ease of doing business with the company.

The success of the Amazon brand is driven by the big idea of hassle-free, fast delivery. It’s easy to find what you need, easy to buy it, and delivery usually happens with incredible speed—sometimes within hours. Contrast this with Walmart’s price-centric approach, building its brand and business on “Every Day Low Prices.” It has also used slogans such as “Always low prices. Always.” and the current “Save money. Live better.” Walmart is at heart a retailer.

Amazon’s whole brand—even the business operation itself—is built around the big idea of getting people what they want as quickly as possible. The reversible logo is both a smile that hints at delight and a swooping arrow that communicates motion and speed. Even the small details, such as the ability to get delivery at Amazon lockers instead of your home and the ease of returning goods by dropping them off at partner retailers, all contribute to that central thought.

Amazon’s clear understanding of the true nature of the company and why it matters to its customers makes executing on the big idea possible. It could promote low prices and wide selection, but that would lose the essence of what makes Amazon unique.

What drives your brand?

The takeaway from high-profile examples such as these is that there may be an opportunity to elevate your brand above your competition by breaking free of conventional thinking about your category. Both Apple and Amazon, in a certain sense, asked the same questions: What’s the big idea behind what we do?

Both of these examples show the value of taking a step back and asking what your organization is all about. Doing so can bring clarity and purpose to your brand and marketing strategy—and even provide a north star to guide business strategy going forward.