Branding during difficult times and 5 common branding mistakes
Here we go again… another crisis, recession, bubble bust, or whatever you want to call it. As of late, people, businesses and brands are all under pressure.
Nothing is more important for the survival of your business than the power of your brand. An annual report shows how you performed in the past, but a brand shows your potential to do business in the future. John Hegarty is right when he states, “Stop building businesses, start building brands!” But when things get hard, too often, companies bury their brands. Even if not knowingly, some common mistakes are made. Let’s take a look at them.
Mistake 1: No brand at all
The biggest mistake is to not build a brand at all, or to pass on the responsibility to one single marketing department. It’s not a team’s or person’s fault if the brand is non-existent. It’s more of a structural problem, as brand building isn’t a marketing but a business strategy. And brands are only as strong as their weakest touchpoint, which means they have to be nurtured throughout the organization. And before starting to think about strategy, it’s important to keep Drucker’s words in mind: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” If you have a strong culture, your brand is nurtured by it. Take care of your people, take care of your culture. Otherwise, you won’t have a brand at all.
Mistake 2: Keeping up with the Joneses
You either have to grow or show, to not lose market share. So you keep looking left and right. What are your competitors doing? You try to do it right. You try to do it like them. It will probably work out fine. But actually you will kill your brand, as you’ll just end up looking like them. As Malvina Reynolds once sang: “...and they are all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just the same.”
Make up your mind. How do you want to live? How do you want to do business? And then take a stand. Your brand is your puppy. You have to lead it by example. How can it be special if you constantly ask yourself how you should be like the neighbors?
Mistake 3: Using data to target, instead of telling stories
Brands are built like nests. They consist of all sorts of impressions, messages and experiences we’ve connected with them and are merged in our mind. Strong ones are stable. Weak ones are blown away by the breeze. Strong ones give us a place to rely on. To be safe with. And that’s why brands are vital to us as they help us make decisions as we don’t have the time or capacity to understand every brand we choose. Consumers don’t want more choice, but want to be clear about the ones they do make. Nowadays, we have data that can tell us everything and help us to know what each individual wants. We need to keep in mind, data can only help us to find stories, but it is up to us to find those stories and create brands.
None of the biggest movies, books, songs and ads are targeted and personalized. They all speak to universal experiences that resonate with everyone, everywhere. It’s not about the perfect targeted individual, but about creative “impersonalization.”
Mistake 4: Thinking that product details matter
The biggest logical mistake is that companies think they compete on the product level. Not just when budgets are tight—but always. Companies tend to believe that marketing and communication departments should prioritize the features of an outstanding product. The best product is not literally the best product. It’s the product you think you know best. Or the brand you know and trust. It’s not about communicating product features but connection, emotions and interests. You do not want to be considered just as the best in what you do. You want to be considered as the only one who does what you do.
Mistake 5: Reduce costs to survive
Every company strives to build a strong reputation, and increase their share of voice in the market. The logic is clear: the more significant the share of voice, the larger the market share. During a crisis or a recession, things tend to go in a different direction. Most companies will cut costs, especially for communication and brand-related expenses. Simple math now: if all your competitors reduce their communication expenses, you just have to keep them at your regular level to extend your share of voice and therefore your share of market.
Keep your budget intact! Your competitors might lose their nerve, which would make them vulnerable. Ask yourself the question: do you want to lose small or win big? Branding takes time and having a good brand gives you a massive long term advantage.
Cut yourself some slack
We should all remember that crises, recession, inflation and bubble busts are part of the game we are in, and we must stay level-headed. Branding is a long term, never-ending project. If we throw our brand overboard when the first wave hits, we will never make it. We should remember the words of Shelly Lazarus, “If you can’t be brilliant, at least be memorable.”