Companies need to brand both their company and their overall product in order to capture market share and grow their overall business. There are several considerations that these brands should have when doing so and many brands make mistakes when branding products in ways that lead to the disruption of their company’s growth and inability to grow their brand effectively. Here are seven things to avoid when branding your company.
1) Creating too Complicated an Image
Some of the most notable brands out there have a neat and concise brand slogan or image. Nike has “Just do it” and a classic swoosh that defines the brand and lets customers know just who the company is. Mr. Clean cleaning products have a simple image that resonates with customers.
While there may be a lot of things that you want to mention about your company when you are building out your brand, keep it simple and choose something that will resonate and let customers know who you are. It does not need to have all the information that is in your terms and conditions to be effective, or have a full ingredient list; it needs to be simple and able to capture a customer’s attention in a moment and stick with them.
2) Don’t Use Conflicting Images or Slogans
If, after you choose an image and symbol for your business you find a new image that effectively captures your brand more effectively, tries to avoid changing it frequently or at all. While a new slogan may be more effective for a specific campaign or product launch, it risks confusing a customer and limiting the effectiveness of your brand image. Make changes to your image and slogan sparingly and try to keep it as simple as possible overall with repetitive images. Consider adding to your existing slogan versus replacing it.
3) Not Investigating the Branding of Your Competitors
Branding for business is essential and should be one of the defining factors for standing out from your competition. Before designing your branding, you should look into the branding of your competitors and see that you are sufficiently differentiated from them to seem like a separate company but with an image that relates to the industry and customer base, you are serving. It is a mistake to not check out the branding of your competition and it should be a focus of your business before you get too far into branding your business.
4) Not Testing with a Sample of Customers
The individuals in your company may be looking at your product from one view and your customers another. Ultimately your customer base will be the ones who determine if the branding that you choose is effective with them so do a survey of them to see just how effective the branding is. Of course, you will have to consider the view of your staff as well, but it is a mistake to ignore the views of your customers. Select a sample of them and get their opinion on the branding that you are considering before rolling it out to the general population.
5) Not Considering the Full Marketplace
If your company is only selling in one market you should still consider all the different places where you could sell products, such as the international market. Don’t choose a branding that alienates any specific segment of the market or choose a name that translates poorly. Keep an eye on the full marketplace and choose a branding that is universally effective.
6) Not Using a Third Party Consultant
The branding of your business is essential to the success of it and hiring a consultant to help you develop your branding is a good idea. Present them with your ideas and put your own stamp on the branding, but get their advice and feedback when doing so in order to come up with a great solution for your branding. Many consultants who offer branding services are well entrenched in different industries and can consider best practices for branding and help to make your branding consistent and effective.
7) Not Rolling our New Branding Universally
Some companies will update the branding on their website and marketing materials, but not on social media sites. Others will let their old marketing materials run out before replacing it. The end result is a turned off or confused customer base. Be dedicated and invested in your company branding and roll it out completely and all at once. When doing so, pay attention to all the ways that customers can learn about or connect with your business and make sure that your branding is consistent across all channels of communication.
Branding a business is challenging but well worth the effort. Avoid the seven above mistakes and benefit from a consistent and effective brand for customers to ingest.
