Bad branding: how to avoid the worst branding mistakes
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Bad Branding…what is it all about??
It can be worse than no branding at all, which makes it markedly different from other facets of your business. In the same way that a bad reputation is worse than no reputation at all, bad branding can be worse than zero.
However, marketing is fundamentally the act of increasing awareness, interest, sales, and loyalty among potential consumers. This process is influenced by a company’s brand, reputation, public presence, and associated sentiments. A great brand can simplify sales, while a bad brand might put them on hold altogether. Logos are only visual representations of an organization’s brand or product offering. Even though it may seem like an easy task to those who aren’t paying attention to the finer points, it’s extremely difficult to condense all the services and products offered by a company into a single unit like a logo design that conveys the right message, works across all platforms, and avoids the most common branding mistakes.
Branding Mistakes in common
Bland Email campaigns
Generally, it’s obtrusive, suspicious, and uninspired. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in the spam bin or be reported as a Phishing scammer.
Ignoring SEO is a mistake.
We live in a digital world dominated by Google. Without a monopoly on this to manage SEO, you run the risk of lagging behind rivals at an alarming rate. You don’t want your target audience to have a difficult time finding or accessing your brand, and neglecting SEO puts them at a disadvantage. What you should do instead is find out what keywords are trending and how they are being searched. Your brand’s response to this may then be worked out using a plan that you’ve developed.
Design flaws on the web
If you have a strong internet presence, you’ll be able to attract customers. When consumers visit and utilize your site, they have a horrible time because of poor logo design decisions, which reflect poorly on your company. Users and brands become distrustful of one another, resulting in bad brand perceptions and eventually, lost sales opportunities.
Small company owners may reach a far wider audience through web design than they would have otherwise been able to in a traditional environment. There’s a greater audience, a broader influence, and a higher chance of sales as a result.
Consistency problems
Inconsistent branding is a recipe for catastrophe. To the audience, it indicates that you’re unsure about who you are or what you believe in. A lack of trust among customers and an unfavorable brand perception arises from it. Brand consistency may be achieved by focusing on your logos and brand identity thus establishing a comprehensive style guide.
Inability to connect with the target market
When you don’t do your homework, it’s hard to know how to connect with your audience. The psychology of branding should be studied to understand how emotional ties and good encounters may win clients over. As many individuals as possible should benefit from the designs.
Falsely presenting oneself
The bulk of successful companies are based on authenticity. Although “fake” brands can succeed, they do so at the risk of their customers discovering and revolting against them. Customers increasingly expect companies to practice sustainability and hold themselves accountable because of climate change dominating much of the news now. If you’ve ever heard of “greenwashing,” it’s the practice of making a business appear environmentally friendly to keep up with the latest trends.
Not being specific
Genericity, as we’ve just discussed, is not a good thing. Perhaps you’re wondering, what exactly is generic branding?
Using a lot of stock images
Using a logo generator to create generic logos for your brand.
A same or similar sounding or seeming brand name.
Product or service that is comparable to that of the competition, but does not beat them in terms of quality
If you have a generic brand, your audience will perceive you as less unique. You will have a much harder time getting their attention and making an emotional connection. Brands that tick off the bullet points above feel sloppy and amateurish far too frequently.
In other words, how can you avoid making a branding error in your own business?
Make use of the skills of a brilliant designer.
Besides the aesthetics of the branding job, your designer may help with a variety of other tasks. Any market research, positioning plans, and prior marketing/branding difficulties should communicate to your design team, whether they are part of your full-time employees or a freelancer you have outsourced. Design talent shouldn’t limited to becoming an illustrator for your brand. To maximize the benefit of your design team’s knowledge and experience, state your goals in broad, abstract words rather than specific ones. Additionally, you’ll equip them to recognize and prevent branding hazards. If you offer them too much background knowledge, it’s far better than giving them too little information.
Do not limit yourself to your design team.
In some cases, your marketing, branding, logo design, or PR departments may have organizational expertise that can rescue you from the consequences of poor branding. As a result, you may be unwittingly repeating a mistake that has already been made. A video editor can notice several mistakes and factual problems in our instructional film at another assignment, during a highly expensive production of a scientific documentary. In the final edit, the flaws would have harmed the film’s reputation and its brand. Recognize the customer’s point of view
A subgroup of consumers who are major spenders, early adopters, or spreaders of positive word-of-mouth can identified by your marketing team. However, I advise you to be as inclusive as possible while defining your criteria. If you inadvertently focus on a single client type that you’ve already won over… There is a need for constructive criticism in this situation. When it comes to customer experience management, simple survey solutions like SurveyMonkey can installed in minutes and offer fantastic insights, while complex platforms like Clarabridge may uncover a gold mine of important customer data.
Global perspective
Plan of time and perform the research required to grow your brand internationally without having to change it for specific markets or regions owing to trademark difficulties, or unexpected linguistic or colloquial implications in other languages. Research well for logos.
Consider your brand’s past.
Your brand’s iterative history plays a crucial influence in its future. Investigate branding documents, style guidelines, creative and designs from the past like a forensic scientist or archaeologist. So, you can rest assured that your labor (and possible faults) will never repeated by accident. Elimination can be used to eliminate concepts that have previously explored or that already served their function in the past.
Keep in mind your competitors
Copying a competitor’s brand makes you appear clone-like. As closely as the law allows, white-labeled food goods may mimic well-known brands, but unless you’re selling a low-priced, generic cereal or beverage, it’s not a practical approach.
Conclusion
Customer service and excellent logo design should be at the forefront of your attention when you embark on a branding initiative.
