How To Avoid The 10 Biggest Branding Mistakes For Designers and Entrepreneurs
I want to talk about How To Avoid The 10 Biggest Branding Mistakes For Designers and Entrepreneurs. Those companies make in many businesses, I see companies and brands make the same mistakes over and over. Oversights things that are absolutely avoidable if they just pay attention. So here are the 10 biggest branding mistakes.
No 01: Not Having A Brand Strategy
Not knowing or even in some cases having a brand strategy, so many companies you’d be amazed even the large ones haven’t done. The brand strategy even the most basic brand strategy things like a brand positioning. Where you codify clearly what it is you’re offering. Where you’re offering it how you’re offering it. Who you’re offering it to, why you’re different and why you’re better. You have to codify these things as a strategic underpinning to your business. It doesn’t have to be complex it just has to be clear mistake.
No 02: Not Knowing Your competition
Number two is not knowing who your competition is intimate. So many companies have not done their due diligence in understanding. The competitive landscape in the category of business that they’re in. Who the competition is how they’re communicating, what are their products and services. What is the price point they’re offering those products and services at, you have to really understand. Who your competition is, so you can be competitive so I encourage companies. to do an audit of four or five of their key competitors on all of the aspects of their brand strategy.
No 03: Copying Your Competition
The third biggest mistake is copying your competition. Now you may know who your competition is and you may be actually going to market exactly like. They are I did a brand muse interview with a guy named David Brier. Who has an agency called DBD international David recently wrote a book. Called brand intervention which I highly recommend David says. One of the most important things and one of the most overlooked things in branding is differentiation. You really have to understand your competition and make sure that you’re going to market in a different and better way than they are.
No 04: Not Investing In Your Branding
Number four is not investing money in branding. essentially cheaping out when it comes to branding you really get what you pay for design. you can buy a logo on 99 designs or Fiverr, and you may get a pretty logo. But when it comes down to it it’s not a strategic design it’s not a design and it’s not branding. That’s closely aligned strategically with your brand strategy and that is incredibly important. You can find experienced designers who will help you align your design and your branding and your visual identity with the strategy of your business. You have to understand that design is not a cost it’s an investment.
No 05: Thinking A Logo Is Enough
Number five is closely related to number four and that is thinking metal logo is enough you’d be surprised. How many companies think that their logo is their brand when it comes down to it there is the much larger portfolio of brand design elements. So you should definitely check that out if your company is going to market and thinking that a logo is all you need.
No 06: Trying To Be Everywhere
Number six is a huge mistake. That is trying to be everywhere with the huge proliferation of platforms that you can market on these days. It’s very tempting for brands to want to be everywhere and to want to do everything for everybody. But what that does is that they end up showing up inefficiently badly infrequently on too many platforms. It’s so much better to choose one or two or three platforms that you’re going to show up on consistently and build a target audience there and really service that audience and engage with them authentically than it is to try to be everywhere.
No 07: Talking About Only Yourself
Number seven is another big one and that’s just talking about yourself. Potential customers potential clients come to you with a problem. That they have that they need to be solved, you need to restate that problem to them and tell them how you’re going to solve it. They don’t want to hear all about you, all about your products and services. It’s not about you it’s about them the biggest mistake that people make and brands make is deciding what works for you. is going to work for them you have to think about the customer, what the customer likes not necessarily what you like and you have to solve. The customers problem and speak to them in their language.
No 08: Being Inauthentic
Number eight is being fake face it in today’s marketplace authenticity rules and if you’re telling fake stories and you’re not being authentic and you’re misrepresenting yourself with the internet and the resources that people have they’re gonna find out the truth in a hot second and you’re gonna hurt for it so if you tell authentic stories and be very open and honest your customers and your potential clients are going to trust you and Trust is what branding is about.
No 09: Being Inconsistent
Number nine is another huge one that’s being inconsistent. I talked about the importance of consistency and branding or design on my website all the time. if your brand is showing up differently visually. Verbally in different places in different ways, you are sacrificing brand recognition. And I also talked a lot about the 3 R’s which are recognizing recalling and revering. You want people to be able to easily recognize your brand by showing up an inconsistent way and speaking in a consistent way. You want them to be able to recall your brand so over time. They’ll develop an understanding and remember what your brand looks and sounds like and then when they come across it. They’ll be able to recall it and then over time that builds brand affinity or starting to revere your brand for being authentic and true and valuable to them.
No 10: Not Having A Marketing Strategy
Number 10 is marketing without a strategy. number 10 relates really closely to number 1 about having a strategy. You have to make sure that your brand strategy drives your marketing efforts. You don’t want to just try a bunch of things and see what sticks in terms of marketing. This goes for inbound marketing outbound marketing you have to develop a strategy a marketing plan, and then work that plan, so that’s it. I hope you enjoyed these tips and tricks on the 10 biggest branding mistakes.
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