A brand by its nature has to be strong and stable. Owners of the brand have to be ever diligent to ensure its authenticity. Stake holders have an enormous impact on this stability. Stresses from the marketplace place a hefty strain on it. Lets have a look at some of the cracks that can form that if left unaddressed can result in brand collapse.
The Inconsistency Crack:
Take a look at all of your collateral materials. Are they consistent in brand image and message? Are all of the brand logos the same? Are all the colors part of your overall brand palette? Inconsistency cracks will cost you money.
The Authenticity Crack:
You say you are service oriented, – in reality you don’t deliver. This is a crack that will soon be a chasm. Authenticity cracks can disgust a customer faster than almost any other type of crack. If you want to destroy your hard-earned reputation, allow this one to fester and grow. To patch this crack, you’ve got to walk the walk.
The Personality Crack:
Like the authenticity crack, the personality crack refers to the brand personality accurately reflecting the tone of the brand. If the Apple personality were to take on the personality of the PC, it would no longer resonate with its target audience. The relationship you share with customers, reflect the personality they have come to admire and embrace. Throwing this in disarray, forms a personality crack.
The Confidence Crack:
In branding, you must be ever diligent in pushing it forward. Letting the economy happen TO you, is allowing the confidence crack to weaken you. The tough times are the true test of your brand. Adhering to your brand values and pushing yourself forward fixes this type of crack. Ignoring it will take you down FAST!
The Learning Crack:
If you want to see this to go from a hairline crack to to a full blown canyon, stop looking for ways to grow your skill-set. Be curious, always be open-minded. The first time you heard the phrase, “social media” did you check into it to see if it held some value for you? Avoiding this crack means that you have to be tireless in your R&D.
The Culture Crack:
Does your brand image truly reflect the culture of your audience. If say, your logo looks as if it were designed for the 1970’s, then it’s time you had it updated to reflect the culture of today. If your image is supposed to look mature (in years) then you are being true to your audience. Contrary to your culture is the culture crack.
The Positioning Crack:
You’ve held a leadership position for years but the competition has copied it and broken it down. It’s time you had a re-look at it. Positioning cracks form when it no longer differentiates you from your competition. Positioning cracks have a demoralizing effect on your sales staff.
The Stress Crack:
You know that there’s problem, but you either choose to ignore it or at the very least try your hand at coming to terms with it. This is the time to look for outside assistance. For a few dollars you can benefit from a wide range of experience QUICKLY. Stress cracks can knock you off your feet if you’re not careful. Depending on your management structure, having you under the weather turns control over to the stress crack.
The Rumor Crack:
Every organization has to communicate with its stakeholders. Rumor cracks form when you allow heresy to inform. Rumor is rarely, if ever true. When these cracks grow they make it difficult to lure fresh talent to your firm. These cracks also reduce the value of your company if you are looking to sell. Rumor cracks form a perception of failure regarding your brand. Rumor cracks are the dark side of business.
The This’ll Never Work Crack:
Procrastination is the seed of the “this’ll never work crack.” If your brand is a true entrepreneurial brand, you are accustomed to risk. This crack works its way into your mind and works to keep you from ceasing opportunity. Doubt is the hairline version of this particular crack. It works to break you down and pass the concept to a competitor.
Once thing about cracks is that they are not isolated in their existence. They work to grow and join up at some point. It is at this point that they are at their strongest. It is the point of no-return as a groups of cracks ultimately cause the brand to crumble and fail.
It’s time to pick up that mortar board and start filling those cracks. The longer you wait the bigger they get.
Brand of any business should be stable. And always use a same band in all the topics, websites, blogs or any other business related things.
None of us can afford any cracks. Thanks for your comment Shipu.
Excellent breakdown.. You basically identified the major reasons for failure with branding efforts.. A+ post ;]
Thanks for this great post! Personal Branding is key to success in any business, finding that niche market and getting the interest of the target market is always the goal. These tips are great, really helpful!
Thanks for the endorsement Karen, I’m glad you found the tips helpful.
Ed
I think ultimately consistency is the most important point. If you brand is not consistent it will be diluted.
Branding is so important to a businesses success, it is especially important to prove your authenticity and brand personality. The authenticity and personality of your brand can really be important in it’s online success.
I have to agree with you B.L.
Wow! That’s a whole lot of cracks on here that I can’t stop laughing. This post is entertainingly smart. I guess, many of us have fallen into these cracks no matter how we may never want to admit. I guess, the biggest crack of them all are those who have fallen into all the cracks you’ve mentioned here on your post. Cheers!
What a great list of “cracks”. In my experience the biggest mistake small businesses make with branding is – forget about it altogether!
There is so much misunderstanding about branding. Some small business owners tend to think of it as “big business stuff” or something that just means their logo should be on all their paperwork and in the top corner of their website.
This is a good article to view brand management from all angles 🙂
Get out the polyfill everyone, it’s time to repair those branding cracks!
Thanks for the comments.
Branding is depends on all these important aspects. But most important is authenticity because it built a trust and faith of consumers.
Truly comprehensive Ed. Cracks happen in all businesses, not just big enterprises. Entrepreneurs should scrutinize their business and plug those cracks, prefererably with permanent solutions and not just interim patchworks.
Thanks Vik, for pointing out that patchworks are not the answer to cracks.
Thanks for list of cracks its quite useful it is really a very good blog Thanks and hope to read more from you.
A cracker of a post! Seriously though, thank you for a very well put together, thought provoking and informative article.
All of those Ideas are all great points to consider when when designing and monitoring the experience you would like your customers to have with your company.
thanks Ed
Nathaneal, perhaps you should incorporate “cracks” the next time you speak to small business leaders.
Sharon, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I guess I had better get cracking on some new content, now that I’ve got your attention 🙂