You know who you are as a company, but branding mistakes can prevent you from expressing that to your customers?
Branding your business is a multilateral effort working toward the same goal – putting a clear picture in the heads of your customers of what your company does and what it stands for.
Being able to articulate the message accurately is more difficult than it sounds. While there are plenty of ways to build your brand, there are also a few common branding mistakes you can make that will hamper your branding efforts.
Here are a few examples of some branding mistakes to avoid:
1. Not telling your customers what you do
If people pass by your business and can’t tell what you’re selling, what’s the likelihood of anyone stopping by? The same goes for your website’s homepage. Good branding means giving your customers an idea of what they can expect from you in as few words as possible.
2. Poor logo design
You might have thought it was a good idea to have your artistic friend design a logo for free, but often logos that are designed on the cheap fall short of communicating the message of your brand. Try browsing online for logo design packages that deliver quality, but won’t break the bank. Good logo design companies will provide plenty of logo design samples so you can see if their portfolio contains business branding and logo designs that are original, unique and do a good job of communicating a business message properly.
BlueFlameDesign would be the perfect place to start as we have years of experience helping small businesses and new start-up companies design and develop strong and consistent brands for their business.
3. Poorly optimizing your website.
With so many people using the Internet to find businesses these days, it’s in your best interest to make it easy for your customers to find you on the Web. Your domain name should contain your company name. Describing your products and services in a language that your customers are likely to use is also helpful in directing customers to your site.
4. Consistency of voice
Describing yourself the way your customers understand you is not only important on your website – make sure that you carry this through on all your marketing efforts. Be it Press Advertising, Corporate Brochure, Company Newsletter, Exhibition Material, Email Marketing Campaigns. Everything that has your company logo on it needs to be clear, concise and consistent in voice and appearance to uphold your brand.
Try asking your customers why they value your business and collect their thoughts on your marketing efforts. That will help you find your voice when branding your business along with picking up a few keyword examples at the same time.
5. Get your staff on the same page.
Happy and informed staff are some of the best tools in your branding playbook. If your workforce is consistent with their treatment of customers and knowledge of your products, it promotes a very positive image of your business.