Five business branding mistakes to avoid

1. Being inconsistent
Successful branding requires using the same name, brand colours, logo, taglines, fonts and imagery at all times. For example, the brand colours that appear on your business cards should match what is seen on your website and social media channels. This way, people will always recognise your brand wherever they see it. Consistency should also involve using the same ‘voice’ in all your content, whether online or offline.

2. Not monitoring branding campaigns

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It would be advisable for every business to keep track of its branding efforts. Every time people get in touch with your company via email, phone call or social media, they should be asked how they heard about your company. While some might have come across your business online, others might have known about it offline via business cards, posters, radio or newspaper ads. Such data can come in handy for future marketing campaigns.

3. Having a weak tagline

A great tagline is one that is related to your core services and is appealing enough to grab the attention of your audience. For example, Walmart’s tagline ‘Save Money. Live Better’ lets customers know that they will save money whenever they buy from the store. Coca Cola’s recent tagline ‘Taste the feeling’ gives consumers an idea of what they will experience when they drink the beverage. However, don’t make the mistake of having a tagline that promises something which you can’t deliver.

4. Choosing an inappropriate domain name

A website domain name is a very important element of any company’s branding. It would be advisable to have a domain name that matches your business name. For example, if your company is ‘Trendy Builders’, your domain should be www.trendybuilders.com. This will not only be more recognsable to customers, but will also make it easier for people searching online to find you. Other things you need to consider when choosing a domain name include availability, memorability, length and the domain name extension.

5. Failing to track your brand’s usage by others

It is very important to constantly monitor how other people and companies are using your branded elements. In the process, you might notice that someone placed your logo in an ad, but used the wrong tagline or colors. Worse still, you might realise that another company has created a logo that closely resembles yours. In such cases, you need to take action to remedy the situation. This could even mean filing a lawsuit to protect your brand from infringement.