Published on September 6th, 2018 | by Sunit Nandi

7 Crucial Branding Mistakes To Avoid To Prevent The Downfall Of Your Business

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” –Seth Godin

What is branding?

Branding is a process, which creates a unique name and personality of a product or a service in the minds of its consumers. Advertising campaigns and marketing campaigns play an important role to help a business establish their brand in the market, attract target customers towards it and build brand loyalty by any means possible.

It creates a significant and distinctive presence of the business in the market, which allows its customers to relate to the products and services, and always stay committed to the company.

Importance of Branding

Branding is not only essential for small-and-medium-sized businesses but also for large-sized, established organizations because it builds trust, improves brand recognition, inspires employees and increases & sustains consumer base.

Small-and-medium-sized businesses can utilize various branding tools to create a place for themselves and sustain their profits in the highly competitive market.

“A great brand is a story that’s never completely told. A brand is a metaphorical story that connects with something very deep – a fundamental appreciation of mythology. Stories create the emotional context people need to locate themselves in a larger experience.” –Scott Bedbury

Branding Tools

There are many branding tools that can be utilized to ensure optimum results; however, the significance of each tool depends on the industry that your business is catering to. Read ahead to check out some of the typical tools, summarized by Malcolm Taylor Used Trucks’ experts that can be used to your advantage:

Audio and visual branding- Radio, sign writing and vehicle graphics, etc.
Event branding- Sponsorships in relevant events
Video branding- Television commercials and Youtube video advertisements, etc.
Content marketing- blogs, social media posts, and newspapers, etc.
Brand activation- mall kiosks and event kiosks, etc.
Word of mouth

Although all the branding tools mentioned above offer a certain value to your marketing and branding strategy; however, word of mouth branding is regarded as the most authentic and vital tool for any business because it is not always a paid; making it a much more reliable & trustworthy voice for spreading the positive image of the brand.

Branding Mistakes to Avoid

Ineffective branding strategies can be devastating for your brand because they may establish a negative image of your business in the minds of your target customers and push them towards your competitors. There can be various mistakes that one can make while creating and executing branding strategies, irrespective of the industry that they are working in, such as:

1. Not getting the visuals right

The logo of a brand is the first thing that is perceived by the customers. You have to get the right design and color to make sure that your target customers not only relate it with your products and services but also feel positive towards it. It should be relatable, memorable and help in building a personality of your business. E.g., the luxurious Cinderella’s Castle of Disney or the Toyota Ellipses of Toyota.

2. Inconsistency across platforms

Consistency is the key to capture the market. You need to present a consistent image of the brand across all platforms; from the offline media to the online media. Inconsistency portrays unprofessionalism, untrustworthy practices, disjointed approach, and unreliable individuals. Trust is one of the essential cornerstones of a strong brand. Your website, social media, press releases, television and radio commercials, and all the other branding outlets need to portray your brand image with a consistent approach to make sure that your brand is perceived just like you want it to be. If your target customers believe in you, then they will buy from you.

3. Getting lost in the fame

When a business achieves success a little too soon, they tend to forget what their brand is all about. Moreover, when you don’t know what your brand is all about, then how would your customers relate to your products and services. Straying too far from what made you successful can be the reason for your downfall, so know your ground before you move ahead.

On the contrary, if your strategies are not working in the right direction, you may be provoked to use copies that don’t actually describe your brand or attach it with irrelevant things. E.g., Starbucks’ #racetogether campaign and Colgate’s Kitchen Entrees.

4. Putting your eggs in way too many baskets

You may have heard that one should not put all their eggs in one basket; however, do you know that one should not put their eggs in way too many baskets either? As already mentioned above, you should accept success humbly. If your brand is able to achieve the desired goals with the help of a particular set of branding tools, then straying off to utilize other tools may be a wrong move. Attaching your brand with too many things can result in inconsistency, and we all know what that would lead to.

5. Jumping on trends

Jumping on trends is not the right approach every time because it may backfire as well. Be it a hashtag story, design trend, song or event, etcetera; the results can be as negative as they can be positive. So, you need to assess the market before accepting a trend for your business. Different industries require different trends to ensure efficient brand establishment, and sometimes, all you need is to stay firm on your ground to make your customers believe that even in the ever-changing world, they can stay rest assured that your brand will remain as reliable as ever.

6. Not changing with the market

This particular subhead may contradict what’s written above, but you need to understand that what works for some brands may not work for you. Sometimes, change is the only option to sustain in the industry. Most brands make the mistake of not changing with the market and overlooking the declining sales, which may result in their downfall. If you observe your prospects well, you will understand if your brand needs to change or stay as it is.

7. Not caring enough about public perception

Branding is all about building a positive public perception of the brand, right? However, down the line, many brands start caring less about public perception and become too proud of their products and services. This is similar to straying off the path and not realizing the mistake until it gets too late. Your branding strategies should focus only on building a positive public perception to ensure an effective brand establishment and a consistent brand growth.

Conclusion: It is never too late to realize

No matter how off track you may have gone with your branding approach, there is still time to rectify your mistakes and walk the path of success. The primary step is to identify the mistakes, and then accordingly, create a plan to amend them as efficiently as possible.

Now, you are aware of the strings that may have been pulling your business towards the ground, and once, you cut them off entirely, then the sky’s the limit.

“Branding adds spirit and a soul to what would otherwise be a robotic, automated, generic price-value proposition. If branding is ultimately about the creation of human meaning, it follows logically that it is the humans who must ultimately provide it.” –David Aaker

Tags: avoid, branding, business, crucial, downfall, mistakes, prevent

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.