Top 5 Brand-Busting Mistakes which one should Avoid

Companies make major branding mistakes, some real doozies. One company wanted to tout itself as the most innovative, even though it spent zero dollars on research and development. Another acquired a well-respected competitor and then immediately changed its name, leaving millions of dollars worth of good will on the table. Those are obvious offenses. Many other companies make all-too-common--subtle yet avoidable--mistakes that sap the value right out of their brands. Here are five I would caution against.

Mistake No. 1:Equating branding with communications. Yes, branding includes communications. But if your branding strategy is all about messaging and advertising and nothing about business strategy or people, then you won't be able to deliver on your communications. If you have lousy customer service, telling people it's great will only drive customers away faster. But investing in training and infrastructure to improve service will enable you to market your great service and still look yourself in the mirror As more information about companies and products is available online, a great company and product are your brand's only defense.

Mistake No. 2:Branding on price. Never do it. Basing your brand on your low price is a race to the bottom--and someone will always beat you there. Even if your prices are the same as your competitors' prices, you need to give clients compelling reasons beyond price to buy from you. Establish trust with your customers, and you can breathe a lot easier when the newest competitor undercuts your price.

Mistake No. 3:Changing your promise. Like a dog sniffing at a fire hydrant, every time a new marketing vice president is brought into a company, there's a risk she'll try to change the brand, or put her mark on it. While your brand promise should be relevant and up-to-date, making a wholesale change from, say, being the educational leader to being the innovation leader will only confuse your market.

Mistake No. 4: Overpromising. The least expensive way to brand yourself is to have your customers do it for you through underpromising and overdelivering. Fight the temptation to sound better than you are: Promise what you can deliver, then do it to the nth degree. Then don't give customers a long voice-mail message to listen to before they can act. Don't let your employees bad-mouth clients behind their backs.
Alongside this advice, I recommend that you focus your brand message--don't try to be all things to all people. Figure out the most compelling part of your promise and build that up, rather than try to communicate 10 different elements of your brand promise.

Mistake No. 5:Me-too branding. I can't tell you how many entrepreneurs have said, "If I only get x percent of the market, I'll be rich." You have to give consumers a compelling reason to give you their business to get that percentage. You can't expect to siphon off business from the market leader without a substantive reason. Don't try to be like other companies: Be yourself.

Steer clear of these mistakes, and you'll be well on your way to branding nirvana--being known for your compelling and differentiated value.