Developing and maintaining a brand is important for any business looking to stay afloat in the sea of competition. What most business owners fail to realize is the difference between branding and labeling. Getting labeled requires losing control and getting defined by people in rather insulting and negative way. Although focusing on factors which increase and improve brand visibility is rather important, businesses should also focus on avoiding mistakes that could destroy their brand. With that being said, here are 5 factors that can completely destroy your brand image and tips on avoiding them.
Lack of genuine intention
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of young entrepreneurs who think that building a brand is as simple as creating and selling a product or a service. However, developing a strong brand is virtually impossible without knowing exactly what the brand represents, who’s the target audience and how you want to your business to be perceived. Trying to reach as many users as possible might be easy for large companies and their budgets, however, reaching everyone is not only impossible but also a definition of an unfocused brand. Keep your intent locked tight on the target audience and deviate only if the data you’ve collected deems it necessary.
Taking forever to explain what your company does
The reason why “elevator pitch” is still being used as a sales technique is due to an average person having a rather short attention span, so if it is taking you too long to discuss everything your company does is simply a bad business move. Your brand has to make an impact that is not only immediate but also connects to your target audience. Consider the approach you’re using and make sure you know the exact time, place and means of conveying your brand message. Otherwise, your brand will not resonate with your target audience and result in your business losing valuable traffic and potential customers.
Inconsistent branding
Inconsistency in branding efforts is actually one of the main ways to damage your brand. Large corporations have been careful with maintaining their brand logos and mottos and are constantly reminding people what they are in every single ad or TV commercial. Businesses use words, such as safety, quality, and service as a type of promise to their customers and deviating in any way from that message leads to customers getting disappointed and feeling let down by their favorite brand.
Sending mixed branding messages can easily be looked at as a misrepresentation of your products and services and lead to getting a class-action lawsuit. So, make sure you have a consumer fraud attorney present when considering brand and product placement strategies.
Demanding support without providing value
No matter how much effort you place in brand development, people are simply not obligated to either help your brand or buy your products and services. You cannot possibly demand support from people without providing any value for their efforts. It’s important that you carefully explain and demonstrate the value proposition your company can have for people and the ways your business can actually help them accomplish a specific task, whether it’s finding a product, using a service or obtaining valuable information.
Below-average website experience
Your website is a direct representation of your brand and should be treated accordingly. Your customers are the main reason your brand is up and running and your number one source of revenue, that’s why they too should be treated accordingly. In order to accomplish this, your website has to provide the following:
• Easily-accessible information
• Simple navigation without too many confusing options
• Clear and legible text and appropriate use of fonts and contrast
• Color scheme that both matches your brand and doesn’t impair the reading and viewing experience
• Mobile-friendly experience, or at least a responsive one
• Optimal loading and downloading speeds
• Excellent customer support, etc.
Have in mind that this list contains only the most essential factors and there are many other you need to stay away from, such as inducing lackluster social media presence, using brand profiles for resolving personal differences, a clear lack of leadership and brand vision and poor choice of brand influencers. Building a brand requires a substantial amount of time and resources, but only takes a single step to completely ruin it. If you’re having difficulties establishing and maintaining your brand, then hiring a professional branding and reputation management company might be your best option.
Nate Vickery
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