5 Crucial Mistakes That Will Kill Your Brand

If you want your small business to survive and prosper, you need to spend time and resources to build your brand image. I bet you will agree with me if I say that image building is really hard to accomplish. Everything must be seamless from logo design, brand name, color scheme, tag line to brand promise. But even the most powerful brands out there will easily fall from grace if they make the following fatal branding blunders, deliberately or mistakenly:

Poor Business Identity

Human beings are visual by nature. We tend to judge a product or even a person based on how we see them. The same is true with branding. If you'd like your brand to stick into a person's mind remember that photos tend to be more memorable as compared to words. Failure to use a consistent visual image and logo design to represent your organization is a disaster waiting to happen.

Consistency is vital in making your brand identity memorable. Use the same color, logo, tag line and brand name in all your marketing tactics. Promote relentlessly to build awareness and retention over the long haul. Your target market must see and hear the same thing again and again until it sinks in.

Inferior Product Quality

No branding wizardry can save your business if you fail to deliver your core benefits to your customer. It is the very foundation of every business and without this you can't stay ahead of competition. A great example is the recent Toyota recall. Even its strong brand reputation can't save the Japanese car manufacturer from declining sales and massive legal complaints for they simply failed to deliver the core benefits - safety and reliability.

Blatant Promotion

Customers hate hype. It's that simple. We don't want to hear any more exaggerated and misleading claims that are so typical among online and home TV shopping items. When you say something make sure you can back it up. So, choose your tag line carefully for they may be your last. When Wal-Mart started using the tag line "Save Money. Live Better" they made sure they deliver this promise by offering lower prices every day and even match lower prices set by their leading competitors. You have to blend creativity and capability if you want to make your slogan catchy yet realistic.

Poor Internal Training

Many companies are so focused on marketing to customers that they tend to neglect the impact of their employees in promoting products and enhancing brand reputation. Do not ever underestimate the power of word of mouth advertising as well as the negative impact of a disgruntled employee. Take time to train them to be your walking, talking billboards and reward them for their contributions.

No Specific Objectives

I believe in the saying "anything that can be measured can be improved". Having a grand strategy and well-defined goals will help you gain better perspective and track your progress. It's imperative to know where you stand and where you want to go before implementing any branding initiatives. This is a common oversight among small businesses given its informal business structure.

If you're really serious about your business, reinforce your brand identity with high quality logo design, professional Web design, and effective promotional products.