Annoying Little Things That Can Wreck Your Brand

Building a strong brand is the cornerstone of any successful company. It’s what stops customers from going to the competition.

But, unfortunately, brand image is fragile. Companies can shatter it overnight, often by making simple mistakes.

In this post, we take a look at some of the annoying little things that can wreck your brand and turn prospects off.

Praising Your Own Brand

You want to love your brand, but you don’t want to praise it. If you do, you’ll come across as arrogant. Saying things like “we’re the best company in the world” probably won’t do you any favours when it comes to a popularity contest.

Instead of praising your brand, find ways to give your customers a voice so that they can praise it instead. This way, you get the best of both worlds. You don’t come across as arrogant, and you get highly effective marketing.

Operating Dishevelled Premises

You might sell the best products and services in the world, but if your premises are a mess, it’ll turn customers off. Common bugbears include smelly lifts, decrepit reception areas, and run-down car parks.

To solve these issues, invest in lift refurbishment and interior fit-outs. Also, work with flatwork companies to improve the appearance of your car parks. If you can, try adding more greenery to your shopfront area to make it more attractive.

Not Paying Enough Attention To Customer Support

Customers want you to provide them with support around the clock. Unfortunately, though, most businesses aren’t doing this. Instead, they’re offering limited support during peak hours, and forcing customers to spend upwards of 30 minutes waiting on the phone to get through to an agent.

Avoid this by allowing customers to communicate with you through multiple channels. If you’re struggling to hire sufficient staff, tell customers that you’ll call them back, instead of forcing them to wait on hold.

Attacking Other Brands

Have you noticed that successful companies seldom attack other brands. There’s a good reason for this: it doesn’t look good in the eyes of customers. What’s more, it reminds your audience about the services of another brand – not something you want if you’re trying to sell to them.

The solution is simple: don’t mention your competitors. Instead, focus exclusively on your own internal game.

Using Your CEO As Your Brand Representative

Some CEOs can pull off being brand reps, but the vast majority can’t. They’re usually dull, annoying, or a mixture of both.

If you’re the CEO, be honest with yourself about your ability to sell your brand directly. Don’t focus on yourself. Instead, build your brand based on your customer experience. Look for ways to satisfy customers and they’ll come running.

Rebranding To Avoid A Problem

Rebranding seems like a great idea internally, but customers really don’t care. It doesn’t make a big difference in how they see your enterprise. What’s more, it can also backfire. Customers may accurately perceive that you’re trying to avoid a problem by simply changing your business’s name.

Instead of rebranding, use the money you would have spent on marketing to improve your products and services. Invest more in the customer experience and they will thank you for it.

Image Credits: Cherrydeck, Nastuh Abootalebi, davisuko