Business Branding – Avoid these common pitfalls!

Branding is one way to give your business a unique identity and defines your business to your potential customers. It helps customers connect more emotively to your business. If not handled properly, your branding efforts could turn into a disaster!

Here are some of the business- branding mistakes that you need to be aware of:

Not understanding the power of the brand

From a customer relationship perspective, having a strong brand proves to be more advantageous. Your brand however should have an immediate, definitive relationship with your customers.

Forgetting to establish defined brand guidelines

When you define your brand, it’s important that you do not forget any of the following elements: Logo, brand colors, taglines, fonts and typography, the voice used in all of your brand materials, the images you will use and such other details. Simply think about all the characteristics that you think will make your brand look and feel unique.

Overcomplicating your brand

While you work on building a brand, it is very tempting to add more elements and variables than you truly need. Keep things simple. For example, your logo does not need to have six different colors. Keep the color palette simple too. The point is that clean, clear and simple elements are more likely to be recognized and remembered by the customers.

Falling into the vague branding trap

Contrary to the above point, do not make it so simple that it reveals almost nothing about your company and its value proposition. Use a clear language, logos and imagery and create an unmistakable impression for customers to remember.

Not policing your brand’s usage

Creating and implementing brand guidelines for your business is only half the battle won. Proactively monitoring how and where others are using your branded elements is the key to building a strong presence.

Rolling out brand changes poorly

Rebranding could be a powerful tool you could use to reinforce your brand – unless you approach it poorly. It’s important to remember that any changes you make to an already established brand reduces the connection that you have built with customers. So, make changes only when the benefits truly outweigh the risks of losing business.