When you start a business, it can be difficult to break through barriers and disrupt the natural order of business in such saturated markets.
This is why your brand is so important as this is what is going to help you differentiate from your competitors.
There are many businesses that fail due to their branding, and it is pretty worrying how many businesses make these mistakes.
This is not such an issue if you have a low number of customers, but if you are looking to rebrand because you have done it wrong then do it now before your business starts to grow.
In this article, we will go through some of the most common branding mistakes to avoid in 2022 and branding tips to focus on instead.
1. Not living up to your brand promises
Starting a brand is a complicated process and it can be easy to miss a few things. It is to be expected that you make a few mistakes on the way, but as soon as you are on your feet, analyse your business and check what you have missed.
One thing that is easily missed is the fact that your brand promises to your customers are not being committed to. At some point, you are going to have to live up to your promises as this is what entices your customers to use you over competitors. If you break that promise, then your customers may turn elsewhere for a better deal or for a brand that withholds its promises.
2. Inconsistent branding
If you want people to recognise your branding, then it needs to be consistent on all platforms and channels. This is a common mistake for many businesses as they use a range of different colours, logos, and tones of voice for each platform, this is going to confuse your customers and any potential customer who is doing their research on you before they make a purchase or hire you for a service.
Instead, create guidelines for how your branding should be used for all your team. This way everything is uniform and consistent. The guidelines should include, tone of voice, language used, colour schemes, fonts, and the correct logo position.
3. Copying competitors and failing to differentiate
The most important factor about branding is that it needs to be unique and stand out from your competitors. It is surprising how many businesses feel they can copy a lot of their competitor’s branding and then start to question why they are not making any sales. Well, the real answer is that it is because there is already a brand out there that does that job. Even if you are providing the same service or selling the exact same product, the branding is what is going to persuade some people to buy your product over your competitors.
If you want to differentiate, research all of your competitors and see what they are missing in their service or product and then aim your branding around what they have not.
4. Not having a brand strategy
Creating a brand strategy can be a difficult process to do if you have no experience in branding. If you are struggling to create a brand strategy, hiring a branding agency Manchester based or Leeds will get you some of the best talents in the UK. This will enable you to discover what your brand can achieve.
For this to work well, you will need to take another look at your competitors and their strategic positioning. Once you understand this, you will be able to determine your customers, and the challenges you may face as well as define your position in the industry.
5. Not understanding the audience
One of the biggest mistakes we see with brands all the time is that these companies just have absolutely no idea who their customers are or how they position themselves against their competitors. This is a huge branding mistake to make as you will need to ensure that you are on the right track and are tailoring your brand around your customer’s needs and wants. To do your research thoroughly to get the best results to include the following:
- The age and gender of your customers. The location of them too
- Their education, occupation, and income level.
- Family status, hobbies, interests, hindrances.
6. Not understanding your competitors
Another issue as we discussed is many businesses have no idea who their competitors are. Well, how are you going to know what you are missing or what you are offering that they aren’t? If you don’t know who your competitors are, you are going to find it extremely difficult to differentiate from them. If you don’t know who your competitors are, you may be surprised to find that they are very similar to you. Some of the things you need to search for include:
- The name of your competitors
- The unique selling points (USPs) of them
- Other characteristics of the brand
Gone through all these 6 branding mistakes? Then make sure you don’t do them!
Manuela Willbold
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