5 Clichés About Brand Development You Should Avoid
A brand is the most important part of your business, but how do you create one? What makes a brand powerful? What should you do for brand management? How do you identify your best company brand? Developing a brand is not an easy task. It can seem like the answers are never there even when you’re looking for them. However, there are several cliches that are associated with branding that you should avoid at all times.
Brand development strategies should focus on the big picture, not on buzzwords.
Here are five clichés that you’ll hear over and over again in discussions about brand development. They may sound good, but they’re actually sneaky, false proverbs that small business owners should avoid.
- “Your brand is your business.” While it’s true that businesses need to develop a strong brand identity, having a strong brand doesn’t mean anything if it isn’t backed up by an equally solid business plan. Branding is important, but it’s secondary to offering a great product or service.
- “Your brand is your logo.” A logo is just one element of your brand, not the whole thing. Your logo should communicate who you are, what you do, and what makes you different from your competitors — but that’s just one part of making your mark as a company.
- “Your brand is what others say about you.” You can go only so far with buzz marketing and viral videos. Successful branding requires more than just getting people talking about you — it requires getting people talking about you for the right reasons and in the right way.
- “You have to stick with one message.” Brands evolve as companies grow and change, so you can and should use a different message or make tweaks to your current message if it’s necessary.
- “Your brand development is one and done.” You might think that you can set up a simple logo and design for your company, and then just sit back as people associate it with your brand. However, this isn’t how most successful companies work. They have a dedicated team whose job is to continually develop their branding to keep pace with changing trends in their industry and to make sure their brand remains fresh in the minds of consumers.
The Importance of Brand Development
It is easy to buy into the myths about brand development and think that it does not apply to you. However, your brand strategy should include a definition of exactly what you want your brand to be. This will help you choose the right images and content for your brand.
When it comes to creating a successful business, it’s important to understand the concept of brand development. Brand development is the process of creating, managing, and evolving a brand. It takes a tremendous amount of effort for a small business to establish its brand presence in the market and build a reputation, but that’s exactly what you must do in order to stand out from the pack.
The first step in building a strong brand is to define your goals and expectations. Once you have done this, you can begin to create an image that represents those goals and expectations.
You should also consider how your current customers see your company. The idea behind this is that if they see a particular image or logo associated with your company, then they are more likely to think positively about it. Try target market research to find out exactly how your current customers view your company. For example, one way you can do this is by sending out surveys to your current customers or even arranging some of them into focus groups.
Some of the most important aspects of brand development include:
Value creation. When you establish your brand, you’ll have to define what your value is — what makes your business unique or different from competitors. You’ll have to convey this value consistently through all marketing channels so customers will understand it.
Creating an identity. Your logo, name, and tagline should be memorable and easily recognizable. This is one of the challenges of branding because your identity must appeal to your target audience while still standing out from the pack.
Building awareness. Your brand will only be meaningful if people know what it is and how it helps them solve their problems or improve their lives in some way. Brand awareness involves getting your product or service in front of as many potential customers as possible, whether that involves advertising, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and so on.
Developing your messaging. The idea of brand messaging can be a little intimidating. It’s the kind of thing that sounds like it should be reserved for big, established companies with lots of money to burn on branding projects. The truth is, your brand messaging is simply how you communicate what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it in the first place. And whether you realize it or not, you’re probably already doing some form of it now. Just remember – the key to developing your brand message is understanding why it’s important and how to get started. Keep that in mind, and you’ll be well on your way to developing a brand message that’s iron-clad.
It can be easy to fall into the common clichés about brand development. It’s helpful to know what those cliches are, so don’t hesitate to mention them should the occasion arise—but try to avoid falling into these traps in the first place! Whether you’re looking for a new brand or trying to update your current design, make sure you don’t fall victim to the common cliches outlined in this article. Creating a truly unique brand is hard work, but it’s well worth the effort.
While you may be in the perfect position to design your own brand, there are many that would rather not for various reasons. If you would like to find out more about how we can help your brand development then please get in contact with us.🍑