As we all know, businesses are built on top of brands. As soon as your company is armed with that brand and elusive reputation, it can really start to grab market share.
The problem is that branding isn’t easy, by any stretch of the imagination. It is something that can be expensive, and can take a lot of time to implement. There are also a lot of pitfalls involved within it, which is where today’s article comes into play.
Let’s now take a look at some of the most common branding faux pas’ and what you need to do to avoid them.
Mistake #1 – You focus too much on performance
As we all know, you are always going to have one eye on your performance – it’s the bread and butter of your business.
At the same time, a branding campaign isn’t just about this. Let’s not forget that this is the time where you need to get your company’s name out there – and advertising a sale probably isn’t the best way to do this. Sure, it might result in a trickle of early conversions, but in the long-term you are just appealing to price-conscious customers.
Instead, think about the long-term. Sure, it’s tricky if you are desperate for sales, but it can be done and it’s completely worthwhile.
Mistake #2 – You don’t maintain your brand
Your brand campaign may have got off to a flying start – but this is just the beginning.
Once you have made that initial impact, you need to maintain it. You need to keep supplying the right message, whether this is through advertising through a platform like Cenareo, or even just updating your online adverts.
Regardless, make sure you’re not stuck with the same messaging for years on end – it will grow stale eventually.
Mistake #3 – You try and please everyone
We’ve all heard of that famous phrase; you can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.
It’s quite a mouthful – but hopefully you get the message. These rules apply with branding and attempting to cater for everyone just isn’t going to work. While you can target broad markets, targeting every market will mean that you only scratch the surface with each one. Ultimately, there will always be someone better for you in each market – and your campaign will be utterly unsuccessful.
Mistake #4 – You try and be different for the sake of it
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being different – some brands have made billions doing this.
But don’t be different with your brand campaign for the sake of it. If you are being different to just stand out from the crowd in your advertising, it’s for the wrong reasons.
Being different should be about being unique to your customers for the things that matter to them. Always try and stick to this principle and you’ll give your campaign the best possible chance of success.