22 Jun 5 things you’re doing that make your brand inconsistent (without even realising it!)
When you’re a small business owner, particularly when you’re just starting out, you have to become adept at multi-tasking and be multi-skilled. This is because, you are it. You are the CEO, CFO, head of marketing and customer service and, somewhere in there, you need to be you as well.
When your head is in a million places, it’s super hard to be on top of everything. Add to that the fact that you’re not actually an expert in marketing and you’d much rather be doing the thing that inspired you to start your business in the first place.
While I know you’re doing an awesome job, it is A LOT! And, I have to tell you, it’s starting to show. It’s great that you’re posting on the socials and that you’re using a template for your presentations. However, without consistent branding tying it all together visually, it’s impossible for your audience keep track of it all!
For this reason, I’m going to take you through 5 things you’re doing that are making your brand inconsistent.
- Piecing together design templates – as I mentioned earlier, it’s awesome that you’ve got a few templates to guide your work. However, do they all work together? When you’re picking templates if, and when, you need them, chances are very high that they are not all within the same theme. Without the ability to take a step back from your business and view all these elements from a branding perspective, it’s difficult to keep everything consistent.
- Choosing colours and styles based on your personal taste – when you’re making decisions on the fly, it’s virtually impossible not to go with the colours and styles that look good to The problem with this? You are not always your ideal customer! When you bring on a professional to tackle your branding, they’re bringing with them oodles of experience and a whole bunch of research into what will appeal to that dream customer of yours.
- Irregular social posting – you know what they say about failing to plan? Well, the same goes with communicating with your clients. No matter whether it’s on the socials or via email, irregular communication is not doing you any favours. Again, you need to get into the head of your customer and post when they’re online and talk about the things they want to hear.
- Confused tone of voice – speaking on behalf of your business is not the easiest thing to do. Whether you choose to use a copywriter or do it yourself, your messaging and tone of voice needs to be as clear as your visuals. A clear, consistent brand can help guide your communication and ensure it’s aligned with those visuals.
- Strong influence from your competitors – yes, you need to be aware of your competition. However, this is because you want to stand out from them, not look the same. Without a clear direction for who, and what, your business is, it’s incredibly easy to find yourself (often unintentionally) becoming heavily influenced by your competition and the latest trends. To avoid this, develop a clear, consistent brand which you’re proud of and you need to look sideways at what the competition is up to.
As a small business owner, I totally get it. You know your business best and you know how it all works but, you also need to know where your skills are best used. When it comes to branding your business, if you can identify with any of the things listed above, perhaps it’s time to admit you might need a hand.
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