16 branding mistakes you want to avoid

To save you the trouble of rebranding or becoming a memefied internet sensation (although if you’re smart enough you can turn the publicity to your advantage) we made a list of the worst branding mistakes businesses make.

Attaching the brand to the wrong products

Brands often make the mistake of attaching their name to products that don’t align with their perceived image. For instance, customized promotional items, such as customised lanyards, can be effective branding tools if they resonate with the brand’s identity and values. Ensuring these products are high-quality and reflective of the brand’s standards is crucial to avoid a negative impression.

We recently came across a prime example when we were approached by a technology firm to make custom perfume tubes that they would infuse with a scent and give to their clients. The foundation of the idea could easily lead to a negative representation of the company as the “thoughtful gift” could have a scent that caused their customer displeasure. 

Evan Rosenberg, Founder and CEO of Powerhouse Prints

Focusing only on visuals

As a green/social entrepreneurship profitability consultant, speaker, and author, I look at how branding can amplify regenerative businesses: I help develop and market profitable products/services that turn hunger/poverty into abundance, war into peace, racism and other kinds of othering into equity and catastrophic climate change into planetary balance.

Shel Horowitz, Transformpreneur at Going Beyond Sustainability

Not considering SEO when branding your business

It is bad branding not to consider SEO in the era of Google. You should always take into account how your brand and brand name will positively or negatively impact your business rankings online. Using major keywords in your business name or punch line will help you in the future rank better for important keywords. Keeping the impacts of your branding on your SEO will help you rise above your competition as this is frequently not considered.

James Watson – Owner and Director of Marketing at Omaha Homes For Cash

Jumping from plan to plan

You need to remember that most effective marketing plans require a long look. They take time before seeing the inevitable payoff. Test your marketing first and then build out the rest of your strategy based on the results of your testing. Each marketing campaign should be built upon the success of the previous campaign; and over time, you will see your results improve. Marketing builds on itself, so the more you market, the better results you’ll get.

Wendy Young, Marketing Assistant at Bootstrap Local

Inconsistency and conflicting messaging

One of the biggest branding mistakes that I see businesses make is that the messaging on all marketing materials and consumer touchpoints are inconsistent or conflicting. Incongruent messaging leads to consumer confusion and can negatively impact sales.

Kristin Marquet, Owner at Marquet Media

An example of bad branding I see most commonly, especially from new and fast-scaling businesses, is a lack of consistency. Consistency is everything. Your brand messaging, logo, tone of voice, color schemes, straplines – everything needs to be rock solid and consistent for a long period of time to build equity around the brand.

Consider the most significant brands in the world right now. McDonald’s has used the same golden arches for nearly 60 years; it’s it’s impossible to use the word swoosh without thinking of Nike and most adults in the world would be able to identify Apple’s advertisements even without the brand name being used because of its logo and signature use of white space.

Matt Caspell, Founder of Lumo Digital

Not being specific

The opposite is actually true, and the more specific you get with your branding, the more your ideal audience will feel you created your product specifically for them, making them more likely to buy. Then, once you have traction, even people outside your ideal branded audience will start to buy, so being specific in branding won’t hold you back long-term and it will help you get ahead when starting out.

 Stacy Caprio, Marketing at Renuw Skincare

The biggest branding mistake I see businesses make is that there’s often a disconnect between who the brands think they are, and who the audiences think the brands are because of poor communication. 

Brands and businesses aren’t typically crystal clear on who their target audience is, and they market and brand in a way that doesn’t necessarily translate to the audience, so a millennial product Brand, for example, thinks they’re talking to their ideal target when in reality they’re reaching 50-somethings instead who aren’t buying. 

The best way to avoid this is to research, listen to your audience and before being clever in your content, to get to know your audience’s pain points, understand their language and THEN speak to them in a way that’ll resonate. Your message won’t get lost in translation and what you want to transmit will align with what they understand about your business. When in doubt, be clear rather than clever.

Sabrina Scholkowski, Owner at Sociouse

Dismissing the importance of trademarks

Another related mistake is inconsistent use of registered marks in consumer markets, or a complete non-use of the registered mark. This may happen more often if the business owns a family of trademarks. Trademarks can be cancelled for non-use, thereby impacting the brand’s reputation. How to avoid this mistake: Ensure that there is a market for and actual sales for the product/service that bears the registered mark; have a foolproof branding strategy at play – don’t register marks that you will likely not lose.

Marsha S. Cadogan, Lawyer and Consultant at MSC Intellectual Property

Being company-centric

The secret of success of small brands is their closeness to the voice of the consumer. When deciding the value proposition or branding strategy, keeping the requirements of the customer is essential. A brand should have a clear and consistent character on different social media platforms. If a customer meets a different persona on different social media platforms, there is a good chance that they can get confused and back out.

Avinash Chandra, Founder and CEO at BrandLoom

Overlooking the internal team view of the brand

Abhishek Agarwal, Founder of Design’N’Buy

Failing to build brand advocates from within is definitely a bad branding move.

While it is important to know how the business’ product/service is valuable to consumers, failure to train and empower employees to live out the essence of the brand will lead to a weak brand presence.

A salesperson solely motivated by meeting a quota will not effectively convey to a consumer how the transaction is more than an exchange of money for a product and/or services. That consumer will end up looking for a cheaper or better solution somewhere else.

Business owners/leaders need to help their employees understand why what the company is doing matters. They need to empower team members to flesh out that vision through their own individuality, going beyond fulfilling a job description and selling a product/service.

Vincent Lee, Owner of Can You Brand Me

Getting a cheap logo

Emily Messing, Owner of EJM Design

Spending on fancy print marketing

Getting your URL/website up and running is key. I created online stationery for proposals/invoices, ordered my cards online and made downloadable materials as leave-behinds for people looking for more information to help me find clients more quickly. You need to look professional and have a website to be taken seriously but embossed paper/watermarks/heavy card stock is not going to accelerate your sales cycle. 

I know many business owners who spent thousands of dollars on these things and found it was a waste of money. Find reference customers quickly, use them to get testimonials/referrals. There’s plenty of time later to dress things up!

Paige Arnof-Fenn, Founder and CEO at Mavens and Moguls

Associating with the wrong brand

After 3 months of asking for sponsorship, they only received about $100,000, and 3 weeks later is the event date. A few days later, a cigarette company offered them a million-dollar sponsorship, to have their brand banner up during the event all the time.

The event company owners were tempted as the event’s date draws near. But they decided not to go ahead as it would hurt their company brand. Just less than a week before the event, another company decided to sponsor $150,000 for the event.

The owners did not give up till the end and did not associate with the wrong brand.

Cyrus Yung, Director of Ascelade

Greenwashing

This is especially rampant in industries of fashion, food, and traveling, which are big contributors to pollution and waste. If the company undergoes a green “rebrand,” displays vague facts and figures about their sustainability performance, and continues unethical employment and operational practices, these are red flags that display they don’t mean any of the words they advocate.

Sharon van Donkelaar, CMO at Expandi

Buying stock photos

For instance, using images that show offices and environments different from where a business is operating would signal dishonesty and may result in losing business. If the branding image is as essential to the business as the quality of their service or product then the business should hire a professional photographer who would give a more honest and creative image of the business brand.

Sam Fatima, Lead Photographer at Sam Headshots

Not understanding the meaning of branding

For instance, Eddie Bauer’s brand used to be comfortable and rugged outdoor gear and clothing. The quality was so good, they even had a lifetime warranty. Unfortunately, they destroyed their brand by removing the quality. Patagonia has not done this, which is why their brand remains intact and Eddie Bauer has been losing market share for years.

Another great example is Microsoft versus Apple. Microsoft was known for Windows and Office, but these were not what made the Microsoft brand. Microsoft has name recognition and a solid product line, but they lack a brand. Apple, on the other hand, has name recognition and customers know what to expect when they buy an Apple product. The products will be cutting edge and integrate various design elements that make them pleasing to look at, touch, and use. Apple’s brand has allowed them to build a loyal customer base. Microsoft never fully established a brand and had to switch to SaaS billing to create a steady cash flow.

Another great example is Walmart versus Target. Walk into any Walmart and you never know what you will get. Some look old and decrepit, even if they have implemented the latest signage. Worker uniforms at some are neat and clean, but old and worn at others. Shelves will be organized at some and messy at others – bad branding! Target, on the other hand, provides the same experience regardless of the store you visit.

Your brand lets your customers know who you are as a company and what they can expect every time. There is uniformity, regardless of the number of locations. For instance, Nike will not make cheap shoes, because that would undermine their brand. Nike wants to be the Lexus of athletic wear, so they won’t make a crappy shoe. Compare that to what other retailers like Eddie Bauer have done to their brands.

The number of times I have to talk executives out of accidentally destroying their brand would amaze you

Anthony Babbitt, MS, MCSE, Founder of Babbitt Consulting

Conclusion

We know it’s easier to pull off bad branding than it is to avoid making any of the branding mistakes listed above. However, that doesn’t give you the right to make a disaster of your brand. If you don’t know how to build a brand you better hire a professional who knows what is doing. It will be an investment in the long run.

Dealing with inventory management challenges

Inventory management is indispensable, but it is often riddled with challenges. In the following section, we’ll discuss inventory management hurdles and how you can tackle them.

A lack of real-time inventory visibility

Many companies still rely on manual inventory tracking processes or outdated technology, which leads to reduced visibility into real-time stock levels. When inventory counts are inaccurate or unknown, a host of problems arise.

As a business owner, it’s crucial to have real-time insight into your inventory. Without this, you may face stockouts or overstocking that could impact customer satisfaction and your bottom line. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t maintain accurate, up-to-date inventory records.

Solution

Tools like POS and inventory management software can offer you real-time inventory management and complete visibility. The right tool will cut down on manual procedures and track actionable data, meaning your business will keep more money in its pocket.

Overstocking and understocking

Overstocking could lead to higher storage costs and the potential for obsolete goods. For a business earning $10 million in revenue, that translates to $400,000 in losses from carrying unneeded inventory. The more inventory a company holds, the greater these hidden costs become.

While overstocking causes its own challenges, understocking inventory can be equally detrimental to a business. When a company fails to keep adequate stock levels, it frequently leads to stockouts and shortages when demand exceeds supply. This can cause major headaches including missed sales opportunities, backorders, and most critically, dissatisfied customers.

Solution

Tackling this issue starts with effective demand forecasting. If you can predict demand, you’ll reduce the risk of surplus stock or running out of items. Using past sales data, current market trends, and analytics are key to making accurate forecasts for better inventory management.

Recognizing and tracking obsolete products

As consumer demands and tastes change rapidly, products can become obsolete seemingly overnight. Recognizing and tracking obsolete products in your inventory is essential to minimize losses and overstocking issues. Failure to address this in a timely manner could lead to wasted storage space and tied-up capital that could have otherwise contributed to your bottom line.

Solution

A stock control system will track product life cycles and alert you when items are nearing obsolescence, enabling you to plan accordingly. Whether it’s through discounting or creating promotions, establishing strong stock control systems can prevent obsolete stock.

Poor handling of perishables or fragile stock

Poor handling of perishables or fragile stock could lead to product expiration or damage, resulting in losses and customer dissatisfaction. Thus, developing and implementing smooth logistics processes for these kinds of stock items is a key challenge in inventory management.

Solution

Having an expiry management system can reduce losses. This type of system will monitor product life-cycle and alert management when items are nearing their expiry dates. With this information, quick action can be taken to sell or move the products before they become a loss.

Beyond the direct cost of wasted inventory, poor handling also creates hazardous waste removal costs and jeopardizes customer retention. Developing rigorous inspection, packing, and shipping procedures is vital for minimizing loss.

Understanding demand volatility

Solution

One way to understand and manage demand volatility is by consistently reviewing your reports dashboard. This will provide valuable insights into sales trends, showing periods of high and low interest. Armed with this data, you can adjust your inventory and ordering habits accordingly.

Conclusion

Inventory management may seem complex, but understanding its challenges and finding the right solutions can transform your business operations. As we have explored these five key areas, it’s clear that implementing specific and strategic approaches is key to success. 

9 perks of investing in an inventory management software

What are the advantages of investing in an asset tracking system for a business? There are some significant reasons to consider implementing a software tracking system for assets, especially inventory, for small retail shops to franchises and large department stores.

Reduction in operating expenses

Inventory management software systems are a great way to reduce the cost of doing business. It’s cost-effective for several reasons:

• It decreases the time it takes employees to review and track inventory, which reduces salary costs.
• There’s less excessive inventory purchased due to more accurate tracking
• Lower transportation costs and related expenses related to ordering more inventory than what’s required.

Overall, accurate tracking with software provides a more straightforward strategy of which items are required for an order, reducing costs.

Better customer service and experience

An accurate inventory system leads to greater efficiency in processing orders and determining customers’ stock. This feature increases the level of customer satisfaction and helps improve business and client retention. Inventory tracking software makes searching for specific products efficient, creating greater trust and loyalty between the business and customers.

Smooth coordination between store locations

Companies with multiple retail shops, kiosks, and distribution centers will benefit from coordinating with an efficient inventory management system. This improved process allows each location to view and determine which products are currently in stock and coordinate and place the products ordered.

An asset management system can provide an alert for low products and help initiate a new order for items running out or low in stock. Ordering is easy to process through the inventory software, which automatically updates the inventory to show which location receives the goods and when the shipment will arrive.

Improved inventory accuracy

Asset tracking software keeps accurate records of inventory levels, so there is little or no room for errors in the ordering process, including duplicate orders. Implementing this system creates a seamless way to replenish low levels or products without missing any factors while maintaining accurate inventory for each item.

Less manual, tedious work

Maintaining a history of orders and products

When you place orders through an asset management system, each order gets logged, the items included, and the total costs. These accurate details are maintained as historical data, which can be thoroughly reviewed and compiled into reports to review inventory and product trends. This information helps market-specific products, determining which items are best-sellers, and accounting functions.

Increased revenue

A well-maintained inventory system leads to better operations, efficient inventory, and more significant income. The overall flow of orders, stocking products, and selling to customers with ease makes the process effortless and pleasant for employees, customers, and management. 

Through data analysis and tracking, it’s easy to find which product lines are most in-demand during a specific season or holiday, which may result in increasing specific orders. This feature will keep customers returning and increase sales flow, resulting in better revenue.

Compatible for financial reports and accounting

All the details of ordering, product details, planning re-order points, and out-of-stock alerts compile easily into data for a wide range of reports. This information is vital for financial reporting and bookkeeping functions. Inventory tracking software provides an accurate record of every transaction, which is easy to export into another program, whether a spreadsheet or accounting software.

Information tracked in the asset management software is accurate and easily transferable into any format for reports and accounting functions.

Greater visibility

All levels of management, including each department, can access the inventory tracking system to view the same accurate data. From the warehouse or distribution center, managers can track shipped items, how many are left, and if there are any discrepancies in inventory. Customers have access to the process from their mobile device app, where they can view when their order is in transit and the expected delivery date.

Conclusion

Software inventory systems are essential for ensuring accurate data, seamless ordering, and accurate tracking of sales, purchases, and additional details needed for every type of business. Inventory management software significantly reduces errors, duplicate orders, and other inaccuracies, which leads to greater profits and improved customer satisfaction.