Branding is a core part of every single business around the world. It’s not just big corporations that need good branding, small businesses – and even freelancers – need it too. The idea is that you create a brand image that people can recognize and identify with. The more you grow your brand, the more power you have on the consumer market. Take a look at the Apple brand; it’s powerful enough to convince people to buy just about anything it puts out because it’s an Apple product. They can hike the prices up above average and play on their premium branding.
You see this throughout the fashion industry as well – loads of designer brands make a profit because of their branding. When done correctly, you can have a huge influence on consumer’s decisions. Unfortunately, branding is rarely done correctly! In fact, there are a few mistakes that most people make…
Inconsistency
Inconsistent branding is extremely common. The whole concept of a brand is that you push across the same messages all the time. This refers to general messages that you put out, as well as things like your color scheme. For instance, if your main brand colors are red and black, would it make sense to design a website in blue and yellow? It completely messes with your brand image as people associate black and red with your company. Likewise, if you push your brand as one that cares about the environment, would it make sense to sell products that can’t be recycled? It’s inconsistent with your main message, so be sure you don’t stray from the path.
Trademark registration
To be more accurate, we’re talking about a lack of trademark registration! When you have a brand, you need to ensure that nobody else steals your likeness. Think about all the businesses out there; it’s easy for someone to develop the same brand name and logo. If this happens, it presents issues as consumers can confuse you with the other business. So, you have to find intellectual property lawyers that help you with brand registrations. From here, you can trademark your logo or other key pieces of intellectual property. Thus, nobody else can use it, preventing any confusion.
No plan
You must have a plan if you want your brand to do well. Too many people will sit back and leave things as they are after coming up with a brand name and logo design. There’s far more to branding than this! It’s about who you are as a company, what you do, and why people should trust you. Without a plan, you have no hope in hell of finding customers or commanding respect within your market.
Make it your personal mission to avoid these three branding mistakes when marketing your business! If you need more advice on the subject, feel free to check out this blog post on five neglected elements of branding. To round off this post, a good brand can set you apart from all of your rivals. It provides you with power and influence, which will lead to lots of success.
