Build a Lousy Brand! 10 Tips for Ruining Your Brand Message.

1.“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Copy Someone Elses Idea! WIth all the content on the Internet, they’ll probably never catch you. If they do you could become a star on Judge Judy! Just select a brand and brand message that can be legally challenged. Lawyers are so charming to spend time with and everyone enjoys a day in court. What a wonderful way to relieve your bank account of all that tiresome cash. (P.S. I have no intention to cite the quote above. This is about plagiarism, remember?)

2. Variety is the spice of life! Be Inconsistent– Unleash your spontaneous, creative side and use a wide variety of designs and logos. The greater the client’s confusion, the less memorable the brand will be. Create confusion in your branding by developing new looks for each of your offerings. Better still, make sure every page of your website, fan page, etc. has its own unique look, color scheme, and flavor.

3. “Let Them Eat Cake!” Like Maria Antoinette, ignore the needs of your peasants (and clients). Avoid any form of market research that would help gain insight into the client’s needs and desires. Never ask potential and current clients anything and ignore concerns or suggestions.

4. Generalize – Never Niche   Become all things to all people. It’s the democratic thing to do. Make advertising statements as general as possible. “Everybody needs our thing-a ma-jig”, should work perfectly.

5. Ignore Your Competition – What do you care if the competition comes out with a new technology or feature that everyone will desire? Your clients should be loyal enough to purchase what ever you offer. Up-to-date technology and standard features are merely a distraction. There is a chance the increased benefits these features may provide to your customers will not outweigh the cost to you.

6. Sell Features and Gizmos – A feature is a specific attribute or aspect of your product such as size, color, potency, options available, etc. A benefit is the advantage a client enjoys from the use of your product, such as, relief from pain, convenience, less stress, cleaner home, etc. The benefits are what attracts prospective clients. Therefore, avoid focusing on the benefits, results, and solutions your product/service provides and instead limit your advertising to simply listing all of the products and services you provide.

7. Avoid Unique, Eye Catching Designs and Color Schemes. Blend in and avoid standing out. The less attractive, the better. Select colors that clash or are blinding when backlit on a screen and patterns that are busy, dated, and tiresome.

8. Distance Yourself From the Client – Make all contact information difficult to find and read, or just omit altogether. Bury this information deep in your website. Use tiny or overly fancy font styles on business cards, webpages and marketing materials. You far are too busy to be bothered with client requests and problems, anyway.

9. Show Them How Smart You Are – Short brand messages like, “Just Do It” or “A Diamond is Forever” are too captivating and easy to remember. Use the most detailed and technical verbiage to describe your product/service. Be long winded and go on paragraph after paragraph describing each feature. Remember to avoid talking about the benefits, results, and solutions your product/service provides.

10. Provide a Poor Customer Experience – The most effective vehicle for promoting a brand is the client base. A brand is a promise of the quality you’ll receive. Generating angry, dissatisfied clients is the best, most viral way to become known as a lousy brand.

Building a Strong Brand: Would it interest you to know that a recession is actually the best time to build a strong brand?

Should you choose to make branding choices opposite to those above and create an impressive brand, you can expect to gain loyal, repeat clients who will refer new clients, lower the overall cost of advertising, increase your firm’s capitalization, and enable you to charge about 5{db95e0fd77ae6d141d4535e2bf7b464d98e4151322120f553d7786be9a7303be} more for your products/services.

Dawn Pici is a sales trainer and business strategist  and sales tactician.  Co-author of the book SELL NAKED ON THE PHONE, Dawn is the intellectual resource behind the Rapport Mastery Sales and Performance management System. Her company, Pici & Pici Inc provides on-site training in sales and performance management. For FREE on-line sales training go tohttp://www.PiciandPici.com/membership/ For more information on our customized training programs visithttp://www.PiciandPici.com or call 407-947-2590.