Once a business creates an online brand presence, it runs the risk of hurting its own brand. Although the Internet amplifies a business’s reach, it also can magnify its mistakes. To help effectively manage your own brand management, remember these seven tips.
Competing With Yourself
Conventional logic tells us that having your products listed in as many places as possible will increase sales and revenue. But that’s not always true. Having your product on your site, Etsy, Amazon, eBay, and Facebook marketplace allows customers too many choices. Each platform gives them an opportunity to find your competition. Instead, pick one or two locations where you want to sell your goods and only link to them.
Arguing With Yourself
Research shows that there needs to be one message that is consistent throughout each of a business’s marketing channels. The Internet and numerous social media channels make it easy to forget this central marketing premise. You’ll want to avoid saying different things on a variety of platforms and effectively negating the marketing message. Look at the tobacco industry as an example. They need to portray a message of sexiness while admitting that smoking is not healthy. At the same time, they want you to know that tobacco is natural. To avoid this, you can use brand management software that helps you focus on one central message.
Too Many Words
If you consider that your website may be how most people interact with your business, it makes sense to have a sharp, well-designed site that makes a good first impression. When designing a website, one common mistake is trying to put too much information in front of the viewer. Imagine using black font on a black background. The reader would not be able to see the message, no matter how impressively written it is. Design your site with a few important concepts and plenty of white space to draw attention to what’s important. Link to other pages on your website to draw the reader in.
Avoid Designing Busy Websites
There is a delicate balance between effectively monetizing your site with ads and having so much information that it detracts from your marketing message. Take PennyJuice.com. It’s rated as one of the worst sites because it has so many colors and lines that it’s virtually impossible to look at the site for very long. When designing your website, keep in mind that less is more.
Doing Everything
The worst thing a marketer can say is that its demographic is everyone. Even the richest individuals would struggle paying for marketing that reaches the more than 7 billion people in the world. Take one product or service, or product theme like kitchen appliances, and market that to a small audience. If that attempt proves successful, try expanding to other markets.
Taking Your Time to Respond to Customers
The Internet is fast. If a customer is unhappy, he or she can vent on Twitter while standing in line. Your business needs to respond quickly to customers, whether they are happy or disappointed. A little tech knowledge makes this easy. Facebook and Twitter will alert you if someone has mentioned your business.
Taking Your Brand Personally
Don Miguel Ruiz’ best-selling book “The Four Agreements” works for marketing as well as personally. The second agreement is not to take anything personally. When you are your brand, it can be difficult to hear negative feedback without taking it personally. The fact is that some people will not like your brand, product or service. Like Elsa, just let it go. Getting emotional about customer service leads to mistakes and ulcers. Let it go.
