5 Ways to Kill Your Brand
April 21, 2009
Image by Christine ™ via Flickr
There was a time when a heavy dose of advertising and a good Spin Doctor could mask the truth about a brand. Today, transparency is the rule; whether a company likes it or not. Failure travels faster than ever due to hyper-connected employees and customers, social media platforms, and a populace sensitive to value and fairness.
With these elements in mind, here are 5 ways to kill your brand:
- Lie and/or cover-up. Humans have been doing this since Adam and Eve, yet it still happens. The bottom line is this – great brands don’t have to lie. As we have said before, the true purpose of a marketer is to reveal the truth about a brand, not cover it up.
- Cheese on cheese. Consumers expect a little promotion – and maybe even a little interruption. But we also expect to find a burger underneath the cheese. If we are enticed to try a product only to be disappointed, we now have the tools to tell thousands of people. In addition, we are much more well informed as consumers than we used to be – so don’t treat us like we are stupid.
- Silence. One of the worst things a company can do is to ignore criticism. Take a negative review for example. There are really two responses: 1) validate it and try to fix it, or 2) challenge it. This is even more true with internal issues such as employee feedback. Regarding #2, the customer is NOT always right – and some customers are simply abusive. So challenge them in the arena of transparency and you will be supported by your fans.
- Lazy Marketing. I already ranted about this in a video over on my BrandMilitia blog – but it is worth repeating. Lazy marketing (poor design, poor messaging, poor execution, etc) sends the message that you really don’t care about your brand. Lazy marketing can take a potentially great product or service and make it look unattractive and mediocre in a hurry.
- Confuse your audience. Mindshare is expensive real estate. Considering this, it is remarkable how many companies lose their place in the minds of their audience. This happens because of lazy marketing, poorly executed roll-outs, confusing segmentation, complicated promotions (i.e. cell phone rebates!), poorly communicating value/purpose, and much more. At some point, the audience just says “it’s not worth it”and moves on.
Death is rarely instantaneous with any of these mistakes. It usually is a slow process; often with other symptoms like high executive and/or employee turn-over, or falling value of your business. Or the need to ask for a government bail-out.
Capitalism dictates that some brands are supposed to die, but it doesn’t have to be for any of these reasons. That’s because every one of these issues can be prevented. Some of the prevention comes from having the right culture, while some of it comes from simply understanding the realities of your brand and the marketplace.
So keep it simple, stay true to what you really are, and pay attention to the details.
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6 Responses to “5 Ways to Kill Your Brand”
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I’d like to add a sixth if I may. Another way is to be organizationally weak. If every person working for your brand is not on board with your promise or is unaware of what the promise is, then you’ve got a problem. Couple that with lightning fast word of mouth and that problem gets magnified, and I doubt any CEO wants to have to put those kinds of fires out when there are more worthwhile ways to use his of her resources. Great post Mr. Foster, we appreciate your insights. Great Day, Geo_Condit
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Fantastic article. The best advice is in the closing line - ‘Be true to who you are.’ Nobody wants snake oil.
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I firmly believe that a brand is made up of the people holding it up, so it can only be as strong as the weakest link. If those responsible for the brand lack credibility, so will the brand.
Be a person of integrity. People will trust your brand.