Branding is one of the most critical aspects of running a business. From your logo design, to the color scheme of your website, to the way you interact with your customers — creating a positive and consistent experience for anyone interacting with your brand is essential.
In business, perception is everything. Ninety-one percent of consumers say that they’re more likely to buy from an authentic brand than from a dishonest brand. Ask yourself the following questions:
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What kind of qualities do you want your customers to associate with your business?
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What core messages do you want to convey to your audience?
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What is the mission of your business?
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What makes your business different from the competition?
These questions aren’t a trivial exercise. The answers will dictate your branding, and your branding is essentially to the DNA of your business.
At the best of times, your employees can act as brand advocates — conveying the positive attributes of your business to their friends and associates. However, when there is a misalignment between the core values of your business and the behavior of your employees, your branding will suffer. Warren Buffett’s well-known quote — “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it” — is particularly true today as news travels fast.
Here are some of the ways your employees may be unintentionally sabotaging your branding efforts. Be on the lookout so you can avert a crisis as soon as possible.
1. Not adhering to your social media style guide.
Seventy-one percent of consumers who’ve had a good experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend it to their friends.
If you want to win at social media marketing, creating a consistent experience across all platforms is necessary. One of the ways to achieve this is to create a style guide for everyone who posts on the company’s official social media accounts. A style guide should dictate the type of language used, the general tone of voice, the formatting of posts and what types of images to include. When employees do not take the style guide seriously, they will create a disjointed experience for your audience. To combat this, ensure employees are given proper training and go through…
