There are numerous tips on how to build a reputation for your brand. However, destroying your renown is much easier than building it. One little mistake can cost you years of hard work. If you don't want this to happen, make sure you won't follow the advice below, for these are the rules of thumb for ruining your brand's name.
Offend your audience
Use stereotypes
You can undermine your own good name without even knowing what went wrong. The easiest way to do it is to release ads that support stereotypes. Gender, ethnic, race, age, professional and many more – the stereotypes are being created constantly before the old ones come to oblivion. Sometimes we cannot control it: we just share the most common stereotypes, embedded in our worldview. However, it's always better to double-check and ask yourself: "Could anyone find this offensive?" Because in more cases than you would think, the answer is "yes, they could". Stereotypes can be perceived as offensive even if they seem positive ("the x are usually good at y"), so don't use these as well, just to be on the safe side. It's difficult to be creative when you are constantly on your guard not to hurt anyone's feelings, yet this is our job. No one told us it's going to be easy.
Be casual on social networks
Today hardly anyone doesn't have an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other popular platforms. We all are free to express our opinion and be as casual as we like. True? It depends. If you are representing your brand it's always better to be uptight than too loose. Distasteful content, insensitive remarks, extreme opinions, bad quality posts, unprofessional images, opportunism and newsjacking can create a bad name in one day. Moreover, not only the position expressed in your official account, yet personal opinions of your employees can damage your brand's reputation, so make sure your staff does not take it to the extreme as well.
Imitate your competition
Why being creative, if everything was already invented? There are tools and methods that work. No creativity – no risk. Just tail your most successful competitors and head for the victory. Good advice? I don't think so. By employing this method, you may achieve some minor temporary success, but in the long run – it's the road to nowhere. This way you lose your chance to have a brand personality, which is essential in today's market. Copycat brands don't live long, the only thing they can offer is a lower price (and there's always someone who can dump it even lower). To win your place under the sun, you must stand out and possess that something which makes your brand unique. Simply having a logo is just not enough anymore.
Be unresponsive
The best way to make yourself a bad name is to ignore client's complaints. If someone reported a problem, react immediately. Thank for bringing it up and say you're working on it. Even if you don't think it's your (or your personnel's) fault, apologize and promise to investigate. Later, don't forget to update the information on the issue. If a problem was solved, report the fix; if it had nothing to do with you – don't forget to mention it either (as politely as possible). Always provide feedback, especially if the message is negative. Building a brand loyalty is about your readiness to go an extra mile for your clients. By handling well an unfavorable situation, you with high probability win new fans.
Ignore core values
However diverse your audience is, there always are some basic values they all share. Ignoring or attacking it is a straight way to infamy. If this is not what you want, then always make an effort to know your audience better, immerse yourself in the life of your average customer. What do they hold dear, what do they cherish? These things should become your brand's core values as well.
Be inconsistent
By constantly improving and aiming to be perfect, you may lose yourself (and your audience). Sometimes customers grow emotionally connected to a package design or a jingle, so be careful with rebranding. You may tweak this and that, but total makeover can be ruinous – the best is the enemy of the good enough. Your core characteristics, the face of your brand must stay constant; otherwise, you risk severing the connection you have already established with your customers. The same basic rule applies to targeting: if you try to please everyone, you reach no one. Sometimes more is less.
So, the takeaways are really simple: if you want your brand to prosper, stay true to yourself, maintain quality, and get used to living in the global village where everything is in the public sight. We are back to the rules of small town living. One slip can ruin your brand's reputations years after because digital never dies.
About the author
The post is written by Jana Rooheart, a professional blogger and IT specialist. She writes about both professional and personal growth as well as about technology and Internet safety. Currently she works for Pumpic app as a blogger. Contact Jana via Facebook.
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