Branding mistakes you can’t afford to make

"Your brand is the set of perceptions people have about your company. But branding is the set of actions you take to cultivate that brand." - Deanna deBara

Branding, or brand building, isn’t about creating a spectacular logo or website. A brand is much more than identity and visual artifacts. Branding is an extension of your corporate personality. It is an expression of your values and beliefs. It's a bridge to connect with customers and build strong relationships. It’s a promise of value you make to all stakeholders. It's about utilising every opportunity to convey why customers should choose your brand over another.

Branding is a blueprint for how you want the world to see your business or product. Hence, branding needs to encompass all forms of communication, cover all touch points - to make your brand top-of-mind and hopefully, first-in-choice.

Unfortunately, branding is misunderstood. There are people who think it can be 'done' in a day and some who think they don’t need it at all. There are startups who think they’re too ‘small’ for branding, and some others who think 'buying' a logo off some inexpensive website is all that's required.

As an experienced branding agency, IntericsDesigns has drawn up a list of the most common branding mistakes and misconceptions made by small, medium and even large enterprises.

Failing to understand 'branding'

As mentioned earlier, branding is a blueprint for how you want the world to see your business/product. It's not be confused with marketing although the two are closely related. Branding is defining who or what your brand is, marketing is making others aware of it.

Equating branding with logo is another misnomer. Logo or identity is an important brand asset, but branding is more conceptual and comprehensive.

Not defining your brand strategy

The best brand strategy is developed when the client, strategist and designer work as partners. A brand strategy helps define business objectives, understanding the landscape, customer, competition and their strategic positions, and then defining your own brand.

Not connecting with the right audience

Branding begins with identifying and understanding your target audience. You cannot be all things to all people. Develop a buyer persona, then personalise design and communication accordingly. Whether you’re a startup or a large corporation, personalization is more important than ever before.

Not being consistent

It's easy to be consistent in the obvious places but forget about it in places, events and media that are used less often. A comprehensive brand guideline manual helps to maintain consistency across channels and collaterals. It ensures that almost everything issued by your enterprise - from business cards and ads to uniforms, marketing collateral and social media accounts - are all on-track and on-brand.

Making promises you can't keep

The true test of a brand is when the brand experience aligns with the brand promise. In the corporate world, breaking your brand promise hurts your customer's trust and negatively impacts your reputation.

Today, especially with social media and the internet, customers are quick to share their feelings, both positive and negative. So it's essential to follow through with your brand promise to builda strong, effective brand.

Failing to differentiate your brand

To cut through the clutter, your need positioning, good design and messaging that makes you stand out, not blend in. Playing it safe means there will be nothing interesting or unusual about your brand; being too edgy can sometimes be a disaster. Here again, it boils down to strategy based on extensive competitor research and consumer understanding that will help you find a niche or unique proposition.

Failing to provide great brand experience

Brand experience is the experience your customer has when he/she comes in contact with your brand. It's not only about your product but also your packaging design, website experience, in-store experience, interaction with your staff, etc. A negative brand experience will repel customers, and through word of mouth,keep others away too.

Avoiding professional help

It's rare to find an entrepreneur with sound understanding and skills of psychology, strategy planning, graphic design, copywriting et al. Branding is more complex and multi-dimensional than it may seem. So you should always think of hiring a professional team that works in sync to design and develop effective branding.

BRANDING, THE IN-BRANDS WAY

Intericsis a leading Interdisciplinary Design Consultancy offering holistic and integrated solutions, for strong and Sustainable Brand Building. As a brand positioning strategy, retail brand identity and brand positioning services.

IN-BRANDSspecialises in anticipating changing business, market and customer needs for developing Future-ready Brands that set new benchmarks and generate a high resonance with audiences; while ensuring integrity and scalability across diverse platforms.

Our Integrated Branding Program transcends design, to set new brand benchmarks for Indian market leaders and conglomerates. We collaborate with top management to harness the ‘big picture’ by understanding what the company believes in, its challenges, and where it wants to go. With extensive research to derive market, competition and customer insights, we develop a comprehensive strategy that would help unleash the brand’s true potential.

As an experienced Branding agency, we offer comprehensive services that include corporate identity program, brand launch strategy, packaging design, and a complete branding and communication package for new product launch.

If you are looking for the best creative design agencies and advertising agencies in Pune, Mumbai, India, visit http://www.intericsdesigns.com/. Interics Designs specialized in brand identity, marketing communication, exhibitions, space design