Brand Recognition – Is Your Business Memorable For All The Wrong Reasons?

How important is branding to your business? Does your brand work for or against you? Are you unwittingly turning prospective clients off by sending out confusing messages?

Picture the following three scenarios:

  1. A leadership coach talking about the importance of communication. Her audience are distracted (and ever so slightly irritated) by the collection of jangling bracelets that rattle every time she waves her arms. They are not paying attention to anything she is saying.
  2. The nutritionist stressing the importance of a healthy diet – except she looks so unwell, she could do with a big plate of steak and chips
  3. The compliance specialist who talks eloquently about his services, but his PowerPoint Slides look unprofessional and his business cards look home made.

What’s happened here? What damage have they just done to their business?

These companies were memorable, but for all the wrong reasons! In the realms of branding it’s important to bear in mind what lasting impression you are leaving on others. You might use all the right words to describe what you do but sometimes words are not enough. There could be other give away clues that are subtly undermining your message.

Your customers might remember you, but not necessarily because they want to come back or use your services. A poorly defined brand could make your business memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.

A brand isn’t just about a logo.

Branding covers everything from your website, choice of colours, logo, key messages, and how you deliver those messages. If you get it wrong all your efforts will be wasted.

For example, if your brand has to compete with your clothes or your body language for example your audience will focus on that instead of your key message.

Granted some business owners are reluctant to ask for advice about their branding… “But it’s my business, I built it – I don’t want anyone to interfere or tell me what my brand should look like”! That could be a fatal mistake because if you’ve not pitched your business at the right level with a strong brand, you could lose customers completely unintentionally. If you get your brand right, you will attract the right type of clients.

Here are 3 steps to develop a strong and consistent brand:

  1. Identify your perfect client
  2. Create an image that meets your clients expectations
  3. Build the brand to bring the results

So what’s your brand saying about you?

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