Is Your Current Branding Hurting Your Small Business?
Effective branding is vital to any business. Unfortunately, many small businesses find that their brand has gotten lost in the noise. If you find your small business in a similar predicament, you’ll be happy to learn that there is a solution. Below are five fixable branding mistakes made by many small businesses.
Neglecting brand guidelines. Your brand’s guidelines (colors, fonts, style of imagery, overall voice, etc.) need to be established and followed across the board. From print and radio to online ads and website design, your brand needs to be instantly recognizable.
Delivering a diluted message. Just like a brand that ignores its guidelines, one that offers muddled messaging runs the risk of confusing its audience. The remedy for this is to be consistent with the way you present your product or service to the public.
Playing copycat. You want your brand to stand out. Simply duplicating your competitors will not accomplish that. Your brand needs its own identity. The day you decide what that is will be the day your brand starts to separate itself from the crowd.
Your target is too broad. You can’t appeal to everyone. Identifying your target market and crafting your brand to appeal to that specific audience is essential to effective branding.
Irregular activity. Building relationships is a huge part of branding. Social media is a useful tool in this regard. However, having profiles on the platforms that appeal most to your target market does you no good if you’re not regularly taking part in the conversation.
Do you recognize any of these mistakes in your branding? If so, it’s time to get your brand on the right track.
