Many of my branding clients approach me initially because they’re unhappy with their website.
“My website needs an update – it’s too vanilla/too corporate/doesn’t represent everything I do and offer.“
But the website is only (probably) the most outwardly visible sign of your brand. Let’s dig a little deeper – and in the words of the business owners and consultants I work with – to see what’s really going on with that stinky brand.
1. No one really “gets” what I do
“I’m trying to make the hodgepodge mix of services I offer feel cohesive and complementary”
2. My elevator pitch or marketing message makes people’s eyes glaze over. It’s confusing and doesn’t help my sales, profitability, or visibility
3. Customers, clients, and maybe even my own staff are confused about what my brand represents
“My current stuff is too vague; it’s not enough”
4. It’s difficult to verbalize what really makes my organization different from others in the same space
“I need to understand what makes me different from the competition”
5. I’m not happy with the reputation my organization has in the public eye
“I don’t have one; I have low visibility – I want to get out there more“
I begin re-branding with a checklist to gauge current branding and marketing situations, so I’ve learned these are the 5 most common branding challenges. These checklist results are important in two ways:
- It helps us decide our marketing and branding priorities, and
- It gives us a yardstick by which to measure how much we are able to move the bar after our work together is done
Do these challenges sound familiar? Don’t worry – these are all branding issues that can be remedied, starting with steps you can take right now:
- Calculate your ‘brand debt’ to see if your brand stinks. Use my Brand Awareness Quiz to to begin thinking about the things that negatively impact your brand
- Take my Pre-Branding Quiz, and note observations about the current state of your brand’s marketing, positioning, differentiation, and reputation
- Read my next post, 5 signs your brand strategy soars
