7 branding mistakes you must avoid to grow online

The market nowadays is saturated with very similar products and services, thus making it harder for businesses to differentiate their offer from that of their competitors. This situation has turned branding strategies into key components of any company’s journey towards progress and a profitable online presence.

Creating a brand for your business, and giving the brand the right features necessary for reaching and engaging the customer base, is now crucial. The online era gives any business owner the capacity to build their success using branding resources and outlets. It’s now more than ever easier to create an emotional connection between your products/services and the client.

In order for your branding efforts to have a positive outcome, you need to first identify and learn how to fruitfully use the basics behind a successful branding strategy.

If you learn to view your business’s brand as a long-term investment, you’re already on the right path. Here are some of the common mistakes you should avoid, whatever your niche might be:

#1. Be different.

Whether you’re selling ice-cream or a revolutionary technology, your brand’s success will mostly be based on the few but solid elements that set you apart from your competitors. If there’s nothing about your brand that stands out, your offer will solely be judged by your prices.

So regardless of how common or unique the product you offer is, learn how to spot and exaggerate the things that make a difference. Once you spot those elements, make sure that they make your brand unmistakable.

If your niche is already highly exploited, use creativity to give your brand a twist! Your marketing strategy has to focus on showing your customers that they’re in for a new and refreshing experience. Here are the questions that your marketing strategy’s voice has to answer:

• Is it different?
• How is it different?
• Do I need it?
• Will I talk about it?
• Will it be noticed on the market?

#2. Maintain a constant voice.

After you’ve showed your customers why you’re different and why they should choose to spend their money on your products and services, it’s important to make your brand’s voice reliable and consistent. Your online presence, your marketing strategy and every ad campaign should all convey the same message. This will develop the client base’s emotional connection with your brand.

#3. Have high-standards for all branding elements.

Having an awesome product or service to offer and a polished message to share with your clients shouldn’t be the only things that scream “quality” when interacting with your customers. That’s the bare minimum you need, but a successful branding strategy requires having high-standards on all fronts.

This includes the images and logos associated with your brand. Clip art or mediocre stock photos will certainly not do the trick. They will however damage your brand’s image. If you’re investing in a brand, don’t try to cut costs on visuals, or anything else that’s directly associated with your online reputation.

#4. Don’t work with amateurs.

Putting your brand’s reputation in the hands of someone that just did a Marketing course in college, or just knows how to build a website and slap a theme together, shouldn’t even be considered when you’re trying to build a brand experience and gain credibility on the market.

Again, cutting costs in your marketing efforts, in a market that has seen and heard it all, will make your business look like a bottom feeder. Pick your battles with managing your financial resources without damaging your chances of succeeding.

#5. Pick the right name.

Building a brand that’s memorable and easy for the clients to connect with will usually start with a well-chosen name. Here are the features of such a name:

• Easy spelling;
• Has a powerful visual reminder;
• Creates an emotional connection;
• It’s relevant to what you offer and why you’re different;
• It’s short and easy to remember.

#6. Employ likeminded staff.

This goes hand in hand with maintaining a constant brand voice. You have to associate your business with people that are on the same page as you are, and that have the same objectives as you. If your staff is on board with promoting and growing your brand, your customers will enjoy prime customer service and you’ll by-default have additional marketing outlets through their voices.

#7. Encourage image-message-brand association.

A branding strategy that smoothly transfigures across all the channels used when reaching out to your customer base relies on the image-message-brand association. This means that your website, social media accounts and any other outlets have to use the same logos, images, and overall messages. This includes any visual means that you use (e.g. webpage designs, brochures, etc).