Branding is how your audience perceives your business; it affects everything from customer loyalty to long-term growth. While strong branding separates successful businesses from their competition, weak branding leads to confusion, disengagement, and a bad reputation.
Many businesses focus on surface-level stuff like logos, but there are deeper branding strategies that, when neglected or over-emphasized, can undermine long-term success. Avoiding such mistakes is essential to creating a brand that remains competitive in the market.
But what exactly are these branding mistakes, and how can we avoid them?
Mistake 1: Not Carrying Out Competitor Research
If you’re new to any business or want to stay up to date with industry best practices, researching your competitors can give you a clue about what works and what doesn’t and how to make your brand stand out.
Your research should cover their products, services, target customers, website, and social media.
Adopting a strategy without competitor research could result in replicating bad ideas or missing opportunities to stand out in the market. You could end up blending in or unintentionally copying their approach, which makes it hard to differentiate.Solution: Research your competitors comprehensively. Study their products, target audience, brand positioning, and online presence (websites, social media). The information you gather will help position your brand as unique.
Mistake 2: Neglecting Your Target Audience
For business to happen, two parties must come to terms: the seller (a brand) and the buyer (an audience). Neither is more important than the other. So, researching your competitor only tells you one side of the story. You need to know your audience’s needs, preferences, and values to fully understand the market.
Brands that don’t connect with their audience cannot build loyalty. For example, using irrelevant messaging or ignoring cultural trends can reduce any interest your target audience once had in your brand.
Solution: Get insights about your customers through surveys, social media, and analytics tools. Direct your branding towards meeting their expectations and desires.
Mistake 3: Weak Brand Positioning
This happens when a business doesn’t clearly explain what makes it different or valuable compared to others. Without a clear message on what sets you apart, your brand blends in with the competition, making it hard for customers to choose you.
Strong brand positioning helps people understand why your business is special and why they should care. Without it, a brand seems unremarkable, and customers won’t see any reason to be loyal or even notice you.
A good example of weak brand positioning is Sears. Once a popular retail store, Sears struggled because it didn’t adapt its brand to changing customer needs. As stores like Walmart offered lower prices and Amazon made online shopping easier, Sears didn’t give customers any reason to keep shopping with them. It didn’t show them why it was different or better, and that led to loss of business and store closures.
Solution: To avoid weak brand positioning, you need to define what makes your brand unique. What do you offer that others don’t—better customer service, unique products, or something else that makes your business stand out? Once you know what makes you different, ensure the message is consistent across everything you do.
Mistake 4: Poor Visual Identity
A brand’s visual identity is one of the first things people notice, and it plays a role in shaping their opinions.
If your design looks unprofessional—like different fonts, outdated logos, or low-quality images—it can scare off customers. They may think your business doesn’t pay attention to detail or take itself seriously. This can hurt your reputation.
Think of brands like Apple or Nike. Their logos and designs are recognizable, and that consistency gives people confidence in their products.
Solution: Invest in a professional and cohesive design that represents your brand values and appeals to your target audience. Make sure your logo, color palette, typography, and imagery are consistent across all platforms.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Feedback and Brand Reputation
Ignoring customer feedback or not managing your online reputation is a disservice to your brand. Customers can share their opinions in many ways—social media, review sites, and more—and their feedback can influence how others see your business.
Not responding to negative reviews or ignoring customer suggestions can only send one message: you don’t care about their experience! This can break trust and present your competitors as better options who seem more responsive and attentive.
Solution: Engage with customers on review sites, social media, and other feedback channels. Acknowledge positive comments, respond to negative comments promptly and professionally, and adjust your branding strategy when needed. A responsive brand that listens and adapts builds stronger and more trusting relationships with its audience.
Mistake 6: Relying on Feedback from the Wrong Sources
Getting feedback only from friends, family, or people close to you can paint an unrealistic picture of your brand’s strengths and weaknesses. The closer people are to you, the likelier they are to be your cheerleaders who focus on the positives and avoid pointing out areas where your brand needs improvement. While their feedback can be encouraging, it can also prevent you from seeing real problems holding your business back.
Solution: Collect unbiased feedback from a wider audience, especially from public platforms like social media and customer review sites. This will give you a more accurate view of how your brand is perceived and where it needs improvement.
Mistake 7: Making Branding All About the Logo
Every brand needs a logo, but it’s far from the whole picture. Many businesses mistake logos for a single solution to fix all their branding issues. But, in the real sense, a brand is more about how customers experience your business, the quality of your products, and the messages you communicate. Focusing too much on your logo design without considering these other aspects can harm your brand in the long run.
A famous example of how overdependency on logos can be counterproductive is Gap’s logo redesign in 2010. The company introduced a new logo, hoping to get their sales back on track after they noticed a huge revenue drop. But the idea backfired, and customers revolted against the change. The problem wasn’t just the logo itself—it was that the audience didn’t feel any connection to the change, and the brand didn’t pay enough attention to their customers’ feelings and the entire brand experience. In the end, Gap had to go back to its old logo after only a week, but the damage had already been done.
Solution: Treat your brand holistically. Make sure your brand has consistent messaging, high-quality products, excellent customer service, and a strong visual identity. All these factors combined make up a strong brand.
Mistake 8: Lack of Adaptability and a Plan B
A brand that doesn’t adapt to changing market trends risks becoming outdated and irrelevant. When a business is stuck in its old ways and ignores how the market or technology is evolving, it can quickly fall behind.
Kodak, for instance, was once a leader in the photography industry, especially with film cameras. But when the world shifted to digital technology, Kodak didn’t adjust its strategy. Instead, it continued to focus on film, while competitors like Canon and Sony went digital. This lack of adaptability led to Kodak’s bankruptcy in 2012, as they could no longer compete digitally.
Solution: To avoid this mistake, brands must stay flexible and responsive to changes in the market and customer preferences. Make sure your branding considers current market needs, and have a Plan B if your initial strategy doesn’t work.
Audit Your Brand Today
Project Branding helps businesses like yours build mindful branding that avoids costly mistakes. Whether you’re just starting or looking to improve your existing brand, our team can help you through the process.
Ready to take the next step? Book a free consultation with us today to audit your brand and spot any potential problems.
