Branding is a difficult task for any company, but the benefits will be significant if you get it right. A strong brand aids in customer recall, engagement, sales and loyalty as your broader reputation grows.
Get it wrong, however, and you will suffer from a damaged brand, which will translate to lower sales. What are the main branding errors to avoid?
Not researching your competition
It’s an essential preparatory step to research the market and see what your competitors are doing. This will help you to position your brand in a way that can win you a solid share of your target market and build a sustainable brand for long-term competitive advantage. By seeing what other providers in your space are doing, you can create key sales points that really differentiate you and osition you as a credible, desirable alternative.
Not understanding your target audience
In the same way that you need to understand the competitive marketplace, you need to really understand your target audience. Specifically, you need to gain a deep insight into their needs, wants and desires. Build up buyer personas so that you can bring your target audience to life in an intuitive fashion. By doing this, it becomes far easier to pitch your brand to meet their tastes. Involve your target audience, and make sure you interview and survey the right people. Sometimes companies get too wrapped up in surveying their internal managers and leaders rather than trying to work out what their customers really want!
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Looking internally
Branding is about far more than just creating a logo. Sometimes companies just focus on their internal stakeholders and their needs, thinking about colours and designs rather than determining what a brand actually is and defining what theirs will stand for. A Gloucestershire Branding agency such as www.reallyhelpfulmarketing.co.uk/brand-development/ can help with this by providing brand development guidance and expert support throughout the process.
Do not leave your new brand to chance. Plan ahead, do your research and ascertain what customers really want before you take the plunge! It’s also worth doing a soft market test with a few ‘warm’ members of your target audience before you go ahead and relaunch. Careful planning, execution and delivery will result in those long-term gains your business needs for sustainable success in a challenging modern market.