Branding, in the simplest way, is the process of establishing a brand identity that enforces a positive perception of a business and its associated products. Elements used to achieve this distinctive identity include a logo, business name, visual design, tagline, etc.
Writing on www.prudentpedal.com, Jeff McKay, Founder & CEO of Prudent Pedal, emphasises how vital branding is for business success. He has pointed out that branding takes time and costs money. For this reason, that businesses must endeavour to avoid some common mistakes.
Branding mistakes to avoid
Failing to understand the difference between branding and culture – Branding is a marketing-controlled aspect managed by people which involves company name, colours, logos, etc. Culture is about the human behaviour of people associated with the brand, which impacts its reputation. Attention must be given to both from a leadership, operations and capital point of view.
Failing to align the brand to the business growth strategy – Any branding process must be a driver of business growth ambitions. Most businesses make the mistake of branding without envisioning how the branding process feeds into its growth trajectory. Growth plans aligned with good branding translate into better market appeal and growth.
Being unclear about a brand’s purpose – Every business must serve a sustainable purpose. Some focus on getting products to the market without highlighting their vision, mission and values. These factors form the foundation of a business and provide insight into the business in the marketplace.
Wrong timing – A branding or rebranding exercise should only be done at strategic inflexion points. These points include when a business takes a new strategic direction, when there is a new merger or acquisition, when the line of products and services has changed and when a business launches in a new market.
No well-defined brand strategy – According to Iss Bautista, who has written on crucial branding mistakes to avoid, she states that a brand strategy captures the business objective and aligns it to customer experience. This demands in-depth research and observing market trends to define the target market and how to win over that market. One simple way to do this is to create buyer personas that must fit into the strategy.
Ignoring public opinions – Customers are the public that engages and buy products and services. A business must be open to in-store of digital customer feedback. Consider hiring local influencers, sponsoring local events and donating to charity, practising cultural sensitivity, using simple and inclusive tone and language, etc. All these efforts allow a brand to be entrenched, but it also becomes easier to gather and influence public opinion.
Failing to have a consistent style – Being inconsistent can potentially break consumer and market trust. Colour schemes, writing style, visuals and imagery, fonts and typography must be consistent on the website, documents, social media pages and any relevant channel where the brand is visible, as this helps the business maintain a high-quality brand image.
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Trained as a Journalist, he carries wealth of experience having worked across the media spectrum in print, electronic and currently in the digital media space.
Patrick's current responsibilities include writing commercial content and most importantly ensuring quality control is achieved on internal and external content which gets published on various platforms.
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