5 pitfalls that stop the building of your brand
Every year I see around 50 companies 'from the inside' through our Cut the Crap Marketing Sessions. During these sessions we take the first steps together towards building their brand. This is what I like to do best. The diversity of entrepreneurs and companies that we can help is enormous. What made it even more interesting, is that I found out that if there are pitfalls, they are the same for almost everyone. WHAT !? Reason enough to name them.
Reading time
2 minutesCategory
EntrepreneurshipDate
05-11-20181. Wanting to be right for everyone
This one I often, and gladly, share. Nobody is right for everyone. Really, nobody is. Not a single person and not a single brand. The quicker you get over this, the better.
Over it? Then you can start building your brand authentically, without always adjusting. We use the core values for this. These values indicate what your brand stands for. By actively sharing this, you attract customers who share the same values. These customers suit you perfectly! It also helps in making choices. Roy E. Disney says it beautifully:
"It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. "
2. Being quiet
For me, this one's wonderful. By nature, I find it hard to be quiet, and I also talk quite loudly. Annoying at school, great for building a brand. But do not be mistaken, you really do not have to scream. Do it your way. Whisper, type, start a podcast, vlog or blog, but make yourself heard. Grab your values and translate them into content that suits you!
3. Looking at others
Building a brand is intensive work. It requires all your focus, time and energy. That means you don’t have time to constantly look at others. Fortunately, I don’t believe in building a brand this way either. Look at yourself and the people in your organization and build your unique brand based on that. In addition, looking at others will cause copycat behaviour. While the brands that do things completely differently, eventually win.
4. Diversify
Nothing is as damaging to a brand (under construction) as mixed signals. Branding is nothing more than repeating your message indefinitely. Your logo, your brand story, your look & feel. People do not just like putting other people in boxes, they also want to do the same for brands. Make it as easy as possible for them and stick with it.
5. Fear
Fear of making tough choices. Fear of losing a target group. Fear of not making enough sales. Fear, fear, fear. Fear that is often directly tied to money. Understandable, but not convenient. And if you're not careful it will even cost you money. Because if you don’t have the courage to change or choose, you could be missing out on beautiful things.
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