7 Mistakes you could be making with your new business.

I wrote this a while ago – focussing on drinks brands who were entering the market, but it really applies to any ‘brands’. What gives me the right to say this? Well it’s what I do. I work with many people who have made these mistake and want to correct them, or are about to make them – and I help prevent them.

Have a read, and if the cap fits….call me.

1. ‘DIY’ design

I get it – you’re a fledgling business so maybe can’t afford a professional designer or can’t be bothered with Fiverr. Problem is, not everyone has an eye for design – the nuances of colour combinations, use of fonts, the craft of typography and so on.

‘It’s only a logo/advert/etc’ is no excuse. If people don’t know who you are, they will make decisions based on what’s in front of them. This might be a shop window, a sign or, in the case of drinks, a label on a bottle or can. If this looks amateurish, then what does it say about the product?

My advice: Just because your friend’s brother’s cousin has given you access to Adobe Creative Cloud doesn’t make you a designer. Step away from Coral Draw or whatever else you have, and speak with a professional.

2. Inconsistency

This leads into the next problem which I’ve seen in start-ups of five people through to corporations of 5,000 people.

Just because you see your brand every day doesn’t mean you need to tinker with it everyday. Recognition comes from many things including consistency.
If you’ve spent money with a designer (see point 1), don’t dilute this by creating too many logo variants, adding out of place images or off brand tone of voice.

I’ve seen this happen specifically with seasonal packaging, where a brewery does a “one-off” special. The problem is, they change their brand so much that all the hard work of creating a fan base can be lost as the new design bears no resemblance to the core brand. It may as well be a totally new entry to the market.

My advice: Don’t mess. Keep it consistent. Until you have a large following, you need to bring people on your journey step by step.

3. Website from hell

Quite often websites can go wrong if they don’t learn from the previous two points, and also if the designer gets too carried away.
Yes, you maybe want it to be ‘cool and funky’ but that’s no good if the user experience is shocking. As it’s your company and your brand, you’re invested in it already – meaning you will have much more patience than Joe-Average. If its confusing, slow and hasn’t been considered for mobile use, then close it down and start again.
Look at Amazon. Love or hate them, but their website makes it easy for you to buy from them.

My advice: Remove your personal passion for your product and brand, and look at your website from the perspective of your customer. Where are they? Sat on a bus? Sat at home, work, other? How easily can they get the info they want?

4. Demographic Assumptions

This one is certainly with beer brands in mind. A lot of marketing is male-orientated in terms of visual and tone of voice but that’s a dated mind-set. The demographic isn’t just changing – it has changed. Do some research and understand who consumes your product.

No, this doesn’t mean a change of colour palate to more ‘feminine colours’ but it does mean you need to get to the basics of what makes people buy.

My advice: Remember that people need to form an emotional connection with a brand BUT, be wary of stereotypes…!

5. Waiting

I get this one a lot. People tell me they are waiting. But what for?

Yes, there is a problem where some people will create a logo, business card and website before really thinking their product through – and then there are those who ‘wait’ for the product to get established before they begin to market it.

Yep, I’m confused too.

Brands can evolve (with caution, see point 2) but you need to get out there and talk to people, show off what you have and start selling sooner rather than later – otherwise there will be no money coming your way.

Imagine making loads of progress introducing people to your great product which no one will remember as there’s no brand. Then you go off the radar for a month to create a brand. You then come back to the people…who can’t remember you..

My advice: Get clear on why you started your company and why you make your product/sell your service. This should contain the DNA for your brand through it’s stages of getting established.

6. Jumping on a bandwagon – without the credentials

Ah, everyone loves a good bandwagon to jump on. In the beer sector it was ‘craft’. The thing is – every beer started as ‘craft’ in a sense; small-scale, hand produced, small batch and so on. But then they get popular and need to scale up. When does it stop being craft?

So, your brand is a hit and your product sells well. So well that you’re spread over three production sites, day shifts, night shifts and you export for five countries. Are you still ‘craft’? No. Stop telling people you are. Your customers aren’t daft.

A similar thing happens with heritage – brands drop their ‘established’ or ‘since 18xx’ statements to appeal to a younger crowd. Why would you do this? Doesn’t it take longer to gain this credibility back when you then want a unique point of difference??

Do I even need to mention sustainability here? Just don’t pretend you care. (You should care, but really – ‘greenwash’ is a term you do not want associated with your brand.)

My advice: Be true to your values and your heritage – but don’t try to be cool when you’re not.

7. Don’t underestimate the role of packaging in the marketing mix

Another one from when I was specifically thinking about drinks brands, but yes – can apply to many sectors if you consider what ‘packing’ represents to you.

I mentioned before about creating an emotional connection with a brand, and with beer (for example) the last barrier between the cool, refreshing first sip (or gulp) is the packaging. It’s the physical conclusion of all your hard work of telling a great story, brand building, placement and promotion.

For many it could be the first physical interaction with your product and needs to deliver on the promised your previous communications have made. It needs to invite people to pick it up and proudly put it in a basket if it’s on a supermarket shelf. It needs to be a shining, recognisable beacon of recognition if it’s say in a cooler behind a counter, or a familiar friend in a line-up of pumps on a bar top.

My advice: Create the connection from your digital and above the line marketing to your physical product – and don’t skimp. This is the moment of truth.

It’s not rocket science, is it?