1. Trying to be all things to all people.
You can’t serve everyone. Having a weak market focus actually dilutes your opportunities for your business. The act of defining your target market is one of a marketers most important tasks. Be committed to really knowing who your audience is.
Creating and defining your brand is only the first step of the brand building. Identifying who your perfect audience is so you know what their pain points are. You know what keeps them up at night. You know what problems you solve. The key is to do your market research on who they are. Don’t just know them, really understand them.
Gather your collected info and create a customer avatar or persona of your ideal customer. By knowing who is your best client is, it helps you to create messaging and visuals that speaks directly to them.
2. Making your brand all about you.
Your brand should inform your audience and why it matters - its about delivering value to others. Your brand should be about your customer’s needs and helping them to build a connection with your company through delivering value. Telling your story is a critical part of building your brand. But don’t just bore them with information about you and your services ... build a story that inspires them. A good brand connects emotionally. Be clear about your brand, your unique value, but focus on engaging with what your client’s goals and ambitions are over your own. Help them to achieve their goals and solve their problems. Your audience will look to your content for answers.
Brands that want to make real impact know they have to cultivate a genuine connection.
3. Assuming you are a well-known brand in you market.
There is no doubt that brand recognition can help bring in more sales for a company. But being visible is only part of the equation. Goal is to keep building awareness to your ideal audience. Build that relationship. Have a clear identity that is not just recognizable, but what your company is known for. Small companies don't always have a communication department or team dedicated to building the brand. But its important to be intentional about your brand identity and presenting the right image to your customers in a consistent manner. Make sure your brand is clearly and consistently reflected in your marketing. Your job is to be deliberate about the steps you take to shape the perception of your brand in your market. Having a good brand strategy will help you to get others to connect with your brand.
4. Planning your branding efforts in a silo.
Its important to integrate your brand strategies with your marketing strategies. Its not enough to create great content, but it has to be seen, and seen by the right audience. Your planning should involve research of you ideal client and where they get their information from, what channels do they use, and then a plan to be on those platforms. Strategic branding gives you clarity you need to communicate directly to your market.
Effectively combining verbal, visual and emotional attributes that define your company will set it apart from the competition. Branding is deliberate differentiation. Its not about logos and advertising.
And most of all, don’t leave it all on the shelf … maintain your site and online presence, engage socially, and be consistent with your efforts across all channels.
5. Not knowing your brand’s super power.
Take the time to clearly identify your Brand’s DNA, its secret recipe, its super power. That is your differentiator. Its why someone will buy from you and not your competitor. Consider how you set yourself apart form your competition. It is important to be consistent in everything you do as a brand. Successful brands know what their super powers are and articulate their brand positioning.
Every single time a consumer comes in touch with your brand, from the website to actual experience of using your product or service, you have an opportunity to manage that meaning and influence it and the overall impact to your business.