As an agency that specializes in creating vibrant new brands and transforming existing brands into industry leaders, we see plenty of examples of organizations that are on the right track with their branding but just need help taking it to the next level.
We also see many organizations making brand mistakes that are holding them back and keeping them from achieving their business goals. Knowing what those pitfalls are can help your company avoid them.
Don’t Lose Business Due to These Avoidable Brand Errors
As a business owner or decision-maker, nothing feels worse than looking back at your company’s performance and realizing, “We could have done better if…” In our experience, the five avoidable brand-related errors below are most likely to elicit that feeling.
1. Thinking a brand is just a logo
The concepts of “brand” and “branding” can be a little confusing. Investopedia does a nice job of clarifying what a “brand” is: “The term brand refers to a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a particular company, product, or individual. Brands are intangible, which means you can't actually touch or see them. As such, they help shape people's perceptions of companies, their products, or individuals.”
In a nutshell, your brand is a concept that encapsulates who you are as a company and what you stand for. Your branding consists of things like your logo, color palette, etc. The problem arises when a company develops (or has developed for them) their visual identity and then believes their work is done.
In reality, creating and maintaining a strong brand (sometimes called a brand personality) is an ongoing effort. But it pays off in greater awareness and engagement from your target market, and as a result, increased sales and revenue.
2. Working off of assumptions
A major mistake that some organizations make is feeling that they have an in-depth knowledge of their audience without ever doing any research to validate their assumptions. This can result in multiple problems.
For example, we sometimes see companies that are marketing to an audience that will have little or no interest in their offerings. Other businesses will target the right audience but use the wrong messaging, offers, etc. Either way, the result is a company that fails to connect effectively with its audience and, consequently, fails to hit its revenue objectives.
3. Lacking a defined purpose
Consumers today want to establish relationships with companies that stand for something. Your purpose can be smaller in scale—like offering the best furniture selection in the metropolitan area—or more global—like helping to decrease the production of greenhouse gases worldwide.
But making it clear how you hope to benefit your customers, community, etc. helps people decide if you’re worthy of their business today and their loyalty going forward.
4. Demonstrating brand inconsistency
If your brand’s visuals, voice, etc. change often or vary from medium to medium or platform to platform, it’s confusing for your audience—sometimes to the point that your company’s “identity crisis” scares them off.
Another area where consistency is key is in your brand promise. If today you’re the brand that “will simplify your life” and tomorrow you promise to “provide the highest quality in the industry,” you’ll likely alienate a significant number of your prospects and customers.
5. Cutting corners on branding
While your branding is just one element of your overall brand strategy, it’s an important one. There are tools and services out there that enable you to create a crude logo in an hour and a website in an afternoon. However, if you take that approach, it’ll show.
Then, even if you have the best products and services of any company in your market, you’ll lose business to competitors that have more polished, professional appearances. Creating branding that effectively supports your brand takes time, effort, and capital. But it’s an investment that will give you a serious competitive advantage in the long run.
Brand Development From the Outside In
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to crafting or enhancing your brand is being able to view your business objectively. That’s why getting insights from a brand development agency that can see your company as prospective customers do is so important.
At Monomyth, we bring a fresh perspective to every brand-building engagement. That customer-like point of view, coupled with our extensive experience in spotting and correcting brand mistakes, enables us to give our clients the best of both worlds.
Are you making any of the errors described above with your brand? We’re happy to share our impressions and information on how we can help you enhance it. Contact us today.
Photo by Wilhelm Gunkel on Unsplash