The drive to be authentic is a cornerstone in branding. When you make a promise to your customers, it is important that you follow through on that promise and deliver. I would also add that over delivering is an even better effort to embrace.
Branding touches each stakeholder in unique ways. All the experiences shared come together resulting in a perception of your brand. That perception – if all goes well, should be one that is positive and powerful. Getting it done right is imperative.
Dropping the ball with your brand can at times be detrimental to growing your business. There are no do-overs in branding. Once you make that miss-step it’s there for all to see. You’ve got to play that ball where it lies. Are you up to the challenge branding demands? You better be because your competition would love to define your brand for you.
Coming back from a bad play is a very time-consuming and expensive exercise. Some companies never fully recover. They carry the stink of that ball still. It is for this very reason, that you must not manage your brand lightly. Staying on top of your game will help to ensure that your brand benefits from the long AND short game. 10 situations to watch out for include:
• Reducing service to increase the bottom line
• Failing to recognize the loyalty customers exhibit
• Identifying weaknesses and conquering them
• Be sure that your brand image reflects your current culture
• Keeping stakeholders abreast of your moves
• Rewarding great behavior of staff
• Failing to address bad PR directly
• Don’t bad mouth the competition no matter how tempting
• Ignoring the consistency of your brand image
• Making sure that stakeholders all understand your brand promise
This is your one chance to step up to your brand, keeping you eye on the ball and smacking it to the green. And in this case that green is money Baby!
About the Author
Ed Roach is popularly called the “Branding Guy”. He is involved in Brand Positioning Strategies for Small Businesses. He can be reached at ed@thebrandingexperts.ca, www.TheBrandingExperts.ca or his blog at www.TheBrandCorral.com