Choosing your branding strategy is an essential task in business. Branding strategies are like your weapons in a battle. They are crucial in your survival in business and are needed to make offensive plays into launching new areas of business and acquiring more customers. Indeed, branding is extremely important. However, many business professionals end up making a great number of mistakes in this area.
One mistake that many businesses often make is focusing on the design and visuals in their branding before having a target market and a purpose of having such a brand. According to small business consultant Miranda Lievers, the key to having an effective branding is to make it personal. This means to inspire your target audience not just on what you have achieved today but also on your vision of your business’ future. Another key thing that needs to be done is informing your customers as to the reason why they should join you in your journey to success.
There are many pitfalls that you need to be careful of during the implementation of your brand, whether you’re just starting to make a branding strategy or reworking an existing one. Try to be mindful of these five common mistakes in branding and learn how to overcome them.
- Using Pronouns WE vs. YOU
There is a common assumption that one of the best ways to pitch your business is through the use of sentences starting with the word “we”. For example, you might be inclinded to use phrases such as “We have the best selling products” or “We have been in service for 20 years”. However, there is a possibility that you will lose your consumers if all you would ever talk about is yourself.
Ram DitVannouvong, an advertising manager at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, instead, suggested asking the following question about your business: “What will the customers benefit from your products or services?” He also suggested the phrase, “People do not want to buy a quarter inch drill, they want the quarter inch hole.” More importantly, Vannouvong added that as a business professional, you must be able to provide the solution to your customers’ problems.
- Having A Goal to Please
Trying to please everyone by using your brand means you do not know anything about your target market. FK Interactive’s co-founder Cassandra Rosen once said that you should not try to be everyone’s everything. This can be a challenge for businesses which are small or still starting out. Small or starting businesses generally have a tendency to avoid turning away business because of the fear of displeasing customers. However, you can also create a similar effect if you do not properly identify your potential customers or clients.
- Indulging in Self-Plagiarism
Many business owners craft a message for a social media profile and then use the same message on their other profiles. This action is a big mistake to take. This may sound effective, but in reality, it is not. Having the same brand message on different platforms will give an impression of your brand can only engage on one level, which may be a turn-off for your customers.
- Focusing More on Quantity than Quality
With the increasing number of sites on social media, there is a possibility that you are missing opportunities in marketing by not being present on at least one social networking site. There’s no need for your business to be on every social media site. You can just choose to be present on the most popular sites and establishing a presence on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Whichever social media platform you use for the benefit of your business, the key is to stay active. You must be able to regularly post interesting content, update new features in your business, and respond to your customers. This way, you’ll be able to make noise on social media, get your business known, and attract more potential customers.
Furthermore, you must be able to ensure the quality of your posts. While it’s important to have more fans in social media, it’s also essential to maintain the quality of your content. To be able to help your team balance quantity and quality, let them use cloud-based software solutions to easily organize internal and external processes.
- Ignoring Follow Up
There is little point in branding your business if you do not get any feedback from your customers or they are not aware of your efforts. It is important to understand how your customers find out about your business. Once you find out this information, it will dictate what channels you need to focus on. Therefore, there is a need for you to utilize multiple marketing channels to brand yourself so that you can get the most exposure possible. You should also train your workers or employees to consistently ask your customers how they came to know about your business.
Final Thoughts
It is necessary for you to understand that your brand has the power to strengthen and improve your business. Make sure to properly oversee the implementation of your brand. This will help customers identify you with a consistent message that empowers them to engage with your products and services. This can be done by focusing on their needs and consistently engaging with them over different marketing channels in distinct ways.