3 reasons why your brand isn't working

Are you posting a lot of content but still not cutting through the noise? Maybe it’s time to check if your brand is truly working to its best potential.

You’ve heard it all before: a strong brand increases business visibility.

But the benefits of having a distinctive brand doesn’t stop there: it makes customer acquisition and charging a premium much easier, even during a recession.

Yet despite all this, many business leaders lack a real understanding of branding. Thus, poor branding can have a lasting impact on the bottom line. 

Let's have a look at some of the most common branding mistakes, and how to avoid them.

1) Not giving enough attention to building the brand

In today's fast-moving world, it's easy to fall behind the curve without noticing it. Many businesses are so focused on sales and operations that they treat their brand as an afterthought.

But if they don't take their brand seriously, who will? In the attention economy, everyone has a brand whether they look after it or not. 

A strong brand is the combination of reputation, visibility and a clearly articulated difference. Having an excellent reputation within a particular circle is great, but not having enough visibility will make it hard to grow.

For example, being highly visible by posting content often, but without a remarkable difference will get you lost in a sea of noise. The key is reputation, visibility and remarkable difference. You need all three to grow long term, both profitably and sustainably.

2) Putting tactics before strategy

There is immense pressure to keep up with technology and the latest digital marketing trends. As a result, many businesses feel that by simply creating content on an adhoc basis and often posting on social media, they'll win more clients.

They invest a lot of time and resources in tactical activities such as blogging or creating online videos to build an extensive following, only to realise many months down the line that a follower isn't necessarily a buyer.

Following is not buying. Social media audiences are incredibly fickle, as just because someone has decided to follow you on social media doesn't mean they are fully engaged with your business. You can have a 100 'likes' but no sales. Sound familiar?

Technology is only a tool and is nothing if you haven't got something compelling to say. All your content should be cohesive and 'on brand'.  

If a piece of content doesn't enhance your reputation, increase your visibility or communicate your remarkable difference in a way that inspires action, it's just a waste of time and resources.

To ensure all your content is on brand, you need to think strategically before embarking in any kind of tactical marketing activities, however tempting that might be. Build solid foundations first, which will pay for themselves tenfold for years to come.

Have you defined the best-fit and most profitable positioning for your business? What is your remarkable difference?

It is rarely what you sell, or how you do it, but rather some intangible 'X factor' which makes your customers feel connected with your business in a way that competitors will find hard to copy or imitate.

3) Lack of brand differentiation

We all know that a profitable business is a business that has found its niche, but we often forget that it's also by finding a niche within a niche. Taking a stand and not being afraid of being different takes courage. Still, it's worth noticing that every successful business with legions of raving fans also often have just as many vocal detractors.

Brand differentiation, through intelligent positioning, is even more vital for smaller businesses with limited resources and marketing budgets. It establishes reputation, increases visibility and communicates remarkable difference all in one swoop and at minimum marketing spend.

Positioning your business is the most fundamental act of leadership. It defines your why, what, how and will inform all future critical business decisions you'll make for many years to come, from which clients to work with to who to hire when growing your team.

Ask yourself the fundamental positioning question: 'How are we going to become and remain different?'

Give your brand a 5-minute health-check

Do you want to attract more clients and grow your business faster?​​

In today’s digital-first world, you need a strong brand to cut through the noise, stand out from competitors and attract the best clients.

Branding is vital for growth. Get your brand right, and you’ll have raving fans queuing up to buy from you.

Get it wrong, and you’ll always struggle to cut through the noise and compete on price.

Take Acacia’s brand health-check scorecard to identify your current brand’s strengths and areas of improvement.

What’s your brand’s health score? Find out in 5 minutes and discover how to build a stronger brand.