It doesn’t matter how big or small your business is. If you aren’t paying attention to your branding, you’re making one of the most foolish mistakes that a business could make.
It is not hard to find articles or reports on how businesses shut shop just by failing to prioritize their branding. All it takes is just one small mistake, and sadly, it happens more often than you can think. Just because you haven’t heard about it doesn’t mean that some company out there didn’t just shut down because of poor branding.
Poor or inconsistent branding is one of the top reasons why a lot of businesses fail and poor branding usually results from businesses ignoring the value that branding can provide. It isn’t just large organizations that have a brand identity that they can leverage. In fact, these large organizations got to where they are because they focused on branding during their younger years.
Branding isn’t some complex puzzle that needs to be solved using high levels of intelligence. In fact, it’s quite easy. But, it does require some level of understanding. Educating yourself about the basics of branding is all it takes to get started on a good path. You can avoid the typical errors made by other organizations and even reduce the stress that comes with keeping your business afloat.
There’s also a good chance that you might enjoy the exercise once you start seeing the results of effective branding.
To make your branding efforts less problematic, you need to first learn to avoid the most common errors.
Brandings most common mistakes. Here’s a small list to help you out.
Not seeking the right expertise
Gone are the days when you could use your “small business” status to avoid competing with the big guys. Today, technology allows you to stand on par with large enterprises, especially with regard to branding. The trick is to explore as many cost-effective avenues as possible to create awareness.
This is where professional expertise can come in handy. There are branding experts and services like Crafted that are more than willing to help you construct your brand right from scratch.
Failing to live up to your brand promise
If you can’t keep your promises, there’s no point making them in the first place. In order to ensure that your customers remain faithful to you, you need to make sure what you do is in line with what you say or promise.
In other words, you need to maintain brand consistency. Your actions need to be consistent across all channels. For example, the communication on your website needs to match the communication style in your print ads.
The slightest inconsistency can cause customers to lose faith. Reputation is a core ingredient in the branding soup and if you forget to factor that in, you’re going to be in big trouble.
Not using a memorable mark
Look around and you’ll find that a lot of the major brands that you come across have an instantly recognizable visual that also communicates something about the brand. When we say visual, we aren’t just talking about the logo; we are referring to a particular visual element that serves as the brand’s signature.
Michelin has the Michelin Man. Pillsbury has the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Marlboro has its Cowboy.
Customers need to be able to make a visual connection with your brand and that is done through the use of apt visuals. So, take the time to figure out what kind of visual would be ideal for reinforcing your brand image and marketing strategy. You might even have to go so far as to alter your entire strategy if needed.
