In the business world, branding is very important for finding and keeping a loyal audience. The best brands are those that stand out, with logos or color schemes you could identify in a quiz if you had to. There’s a lot of advice for upcoming businesses online, but here we’re discussing the most common mistakes brands should avoid.
Using Inconsistent Imagery
The first and most superficial mistake is when a brand has confused imagery. This means a brand uses different logos and colours across the business, so it’s hard to identify a common theme. For example, if every McDonald’s restaurant had a different sign outside, it wouldn’t be the iconic name that it is today.
There are times when a brand can have inconsistent imagery associated with it. This is common for websites that might host others’ content on their pages. iGaming providers do this for casino games, which come in a wide variety of colors and themes. So, the host site has its own colors and branding, but then the Wanted Dead or a Wild betting game uses Wild West aesthetics and earthy colors. In that case, it’s appropriate for each game to have its historical, fantasy, or sci-fi themes because it benefits the user’s experience.
However, for most businesses, it’s best to keep branding consistent. Consistency isn’t just about using the same assets; it also needs to match what your business does. If an EV company used a gasoline tank as a logo, that would confuse customers since they don’t work with gas. Likewise, there are a lot of assumptions and feelings attached to the colors we see, as explained here by WebMD. That’s why eco-friendly companies opt for green or blue to represent Earth, flourishing nature, or clean water. As a result, brands should avoid choosing colors that are off-putting in the context of your industry and what your business does.
Lacking Values or a Narrative
To many, branding is when you use the right colors and fonts but it goes much deeper than that. The best brands have stated values or at least a narrative that customers can get behind. For many brands, it’s the story of how the business was formed. For others, their story isn’t very interesting so they focus on aspirations instead. In any case, modern businesses love to give customers something other than a product or service to get behind. This practice started with social enterprises but has become a staple of modern branding.
Every business has something – a backstory or an industry goal – that they can turn into marketable values or a narrative. Many don’t, however, and miss out on getting customers who identify with their goals. Other businesses might design one that is inaccurate or inauthentic, which is arguably worse than not having one at all. To find their values or narrative, a business should ask itself what it wants to achieve besides profit. If your business wants to see a change in its industry, what would it be?
Mimicking Competitors Too Much
Now that businesses compete in the digital world, it’s very easy to look at competitors and copy what they are doing. This is generally a positive thing – it forces every company to maintain a high standard if they don’t want to fall behind. However, brands can copy each other too much, to the point of losing any uniqueness. Businesses should hone their Unique Selling Proposition but, if they copy competitors too much, they can lose it entirely.
Common Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemSource: Unsplash
Every business should research its competitors to see what techniques they use, what trends they’re following, and what shortfalls they have. They can help a business improve its operations, especially on the backend. When it comes to branding and public-facing operations, it’s best to go your own way.
By avoiding these three common mistakes, your brand will be much stronger. A business can do everything correctly on its backend but, if it makes mistakes in branding, that’s all its target audience will see. New business ventures are more likely to find success if they avoid these landmines.