COMMMON BRANDING MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

BY Benjamin

November 27, 2021

Try to remember the products that you use every day. Does it have a logo that’s not like others of its kind? The logo helps you recognise it, letting you know how to find what you need every time you’re out to buy groceries.

Logos are one of the primary components of branding, which helps consumers recognise the products or brands they patronise. Branding is the identity of a business. If a company has inconsistent branding, it won’t make any sense and will be hard to remember. In turn, a business won’t attract customers successfully.

In this article, we’ll be discussing some of the most common mistakes in branding and how to avoid them. Read on below to learn more.

UNDERSTANDING BAD BRANDING

When you think about it, you’re better off having no branding at all than promoting bad branding that can tend to turn off shoppers. Branding you don’t take time to think about leaves a poor impression on prospective customers or anyone who sees it. Even if you make a simple mistake, it can lead to your business’ downfall.

For people who will see your lousy branding, they could end up avoiding whatever you’re selling at all costs. Instead, they will be going to your competitors, which helps them grow while your market share dwindles. In essence, terrible branding can be inadvertently considered promoting for your competitors even without your intention.

HOW BRANDING, MARKETING, AND LOGOS WORK TOGETHER

For any company, branding, marketing, and logos are crucial. However, there are some distinctions between the three concepts.

Branding is like a promise that a business makes to its customers. On the other hand, marketing helps convey this promise to the people, while the logos prove that you will deliver. Other times, your reputation or how you stand against your competitors can define your brand.

BRANDING MISTAKES YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD AVOID DOING

SENDING COLD EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

No matter how hard you look, cold email campaigns are a terrible idea, so you shouldn’t do them. It involves sending campaigns to recipients without prior notice.

Unfortunately, it is bad for business because those kinds of emails are suspicious and intrusive. Besides, what you send will likely end up in a recipient’s spam folder or trash because they’re generally unwelcome.

OVERLOOKING SEO COMPLETELY

In today’s digital age, Google can make or break your business. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) uses relevant keywords to increase visibility on search engines. If you don’t use SEO to your advantage, then your business will experience little to no growth at all.

To make it work, you must do extensive research to get the right keywords. Then, you need to use them correctly to optimise your website’s content, allowing you to have a positive branding image as long as what you put out remains relevant.

USING POOR WEB DESIGN

Most businesses nowadays exist in the digital space. The competition online is even tighter because of the potential to gain a broader reach on the internet, so your website has to be ready for the competition.

Bad web design is a reflection of poor branding, causing you to lose potential customers. Meanwhile, an excellent web design creates a positive user experience, which increases the chances of your customers doing business with you.

DISCONNECTING WITH THE AUDIENCE

If you want to achieve an online presence, you must know your business’ target audience. If you don’t learn how to connect with them, you’ll lose out on a lot of profit. The best way to do so is through market research.

Some essential questions to address when developing your brand include knowing what a particular demographic is like and what their use is to a group of people. They serve as your guide to help your business understand your audience better.

LACKING ORIGINALITY FOR YOUR BRANDING

You must avoid being generic with your branding at all costs. If you go the generic route, people will not find it appealing in any way at all.

Granted, the term “generic branding” is too broad. So, what exactly constitutes generic branding? Here are some examples:

Not accounting for core branding practices, such as using a logo generator instead of creating one from scratch with proper design.
Relying too much on stock images.
Creating a brand name that sounds similar to a competitor’s and offering a product or service that’s also alike without much difference.
Using terms in your copy that the general public cannot easily understand.

CONCLUSION

Branding is a business’ identity, so you should create it by pouring a lot of thought into it. If you fail to produce fresh, unique branding, your business won’t take off because anyone who sees your branding, including your products or services, will avoid your company.

The first thing that customers see every time they encounter a brand is its logo. 55 Knots provides affordable graphic design services that will give a good lasting impression on your prospective customers. Aside from that, we also offer other services for animated video production and motion graphics. Contact us today to get started!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Captain of ships and commander to a crew of designers. Benjamin Williams is a creative director with over 20 years of experience working with the world’s largest brands.