Today we are answering the question on every entrepreneur’s mind: What are the most common branding mistakes entrepreneurs make, and how can I avoid them in 2021?
Entrepreneur’s are amazing at identifying the needs of humanity, and meeting those needs through innovation. And in the wake of a worldwide pandemic, entrepreneurs are now finding themselves on the frontlines for helping humanity find solutions that can put us on a path toward a greater future.
You have an idea for a product or a service that is going to make people’s lives better. The question today is, once you have this amazing product or service, how do you Come Out of Nowhere to put it into the hands and the homes of the millions of people who need it the most? And in 2021, the answer to that question is through the connective power of a great brand.
As an entrepreneur, you are a creator. An innovator. A leader… so for today’s unique episode I’m not going to tell you what to do to build a great brand. Instead, I’m going to give all the most vital what-not-to-dos—The Top Five Most Common Branding Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make.
Okay here we go! We’re gonna come outta the gate swinging with the number one branding mistake that entrepreneurs make.
#1. Thinking You Can Do It All Yourself.
The mind of the entrepreneur is the birthplace of innovation, and so it makes sense in the beginning phases, for your venture to feel like it’s your baby. It belongs to you, you created it, you love it, and you want to protect it. And when your business is new, especially if it’s an online business—You may find it’s totally possible to keep up with the many aspects of doing business all by yourself…at first.
But you’re not in the game to only play one inning, and you want to help more than just a handful of people. Your brand has a purpose that is far higher than just getting orders out on time. Your brand is here to make people’s lives better. And in 2021, to reach those people far and wide (and for many more years to come), you’ll need to be available to act as a guardian over something even more precious than your original ideas: I’m talking about your brand’s values and ethics.
Because authentic values inspire people to form relationships with your brand. A brand with consistent values and ethics reminds us of ourselves—they are what makes your brand human and relatable, and consistency builds trust.
And what happens when we humans feel like it’s safe to place our trust in a brand? We begin to LOVE that brand, the way we’d love a close friend.
So what makes a brand feel authentic and relatable in 2021? The brand’s culture. The people you will onboard who believe in your brand as much as you do, not because you told them to, but because they are living better lives because of your brand—They will be the ones who telegraph that authenticity to your customers again and again and again.
When it comes to branding in 2021– and it doesn’t matter if we are talking about a company brand, or a personal brand— Who your brand really is in the eyes of the world will not be based on what you tell people about your brand. It won’t be based on what you tell your employees that you want other people to think about your brand. How the world experiences your brand is going to be entirely based on how your brand makes people feel about themselves.
So gather your people, start building relationships with your brand’s stakeholders, aim to make shared success the ultimate expression of your brilliant innovation, and your brand will do the rest.
#2. Spending Too Much Money, or Not Spending Enough Money!
As an entrepreneur, money is likely to be one of your biggest concerns. Many entrepreneurs go into their venture with one of the two following mindsets: Either they catch themselves repeating that old old old saying, “You gotta spend money to make money,” which someone came up with way before the internet changed EVERYTHING about how business is done—OR— They tell themselves, “I’ll only spend the bare minimum until I create a decent cash flow.” Both of these mindsets are like two extremes on opposite ends. And both of these mindsets can hurt your brand.
Yes, you want to spend your start-up money wisely, but to build a brand in 2021 with the ability to Come Out of Nowhere and Become an Inspiration to Millions, you can’t be afraid to invest in good people, you can’t be afraid to invest in quality materials, and you can’t be afraid to invest in worthy causes. These three areas are like The Trifecta for Inspiring Word-of-Mouth Advertising, which is 50x more effective than any other form of marketing.
Investing the kind of people whose values and ethics align with your brand and who possess particular strengths, talents, and expertise that can take your innovative ideas to the next level. Actually, you know what? Let’s include a masterclass I did that will be perfect for you to get more info on this subject. It’s called “How Much Do I Spend On a Logo.” I’ll be sure to add that for you in the description below.
Investing in quality products is vital to keeping your brand’s promises, and investing in worthy causes that align with your brand’s values and ethics will elevate the conversation your brand is having with your audience to a place that is more meaningful than just sales sales sales. It allows your brand to express dedication to the community it serves, it connects your brand more deeply with your customers, and it makes you customers feel proud to associate themselves with your brand.
#3. Undervaluing Customer Feedback.
So, hey- want to know the number one reason good brands fail? Take a hundred different failed brands with a hundred different circumstances, and the reason why will always be directly connected to how well that brand listened.
Every single dollar that any brand makes is always always always directly connected to how well that brand listens. AND the brands that learn to listen the best—the brands who go above and beyond to know their Ideal Individuals the best—those are the brands who win brand loyalty in 2021.
And no matter what amazing business you are building, brand loyalty is your business plan.
In today’s fast-paced digital market, today’s consumers have SO MANY OPTIONS, and we are no longer buying blind. We read reviews, we leave reviews, and the conversation between brands and customers has never been more transparent.
For a brand who knows how to listen, everything their ideal individuals say can be spun into gold, including everything their ideal individuals are saying about other brands. So basically, even the reviews of the other brands in your industry are full of gold that is overlooked like crazy.
And what that means for you is that it’s NEVER too early or too late to start listening and start getting to know your customers the best.
When a brand undervalues customer feedback they are leaving money on the table, and it doesn’t take too long before that lost money from lack of listening turns into BIG MONEY. I’m talking like—make you or break you money.
Remember, every penny your brand earns will be the direct result of how well your brand listens. Every. Single. Penny. So undervaluing customer feedback is like undervaluing your brand’s ultimate path toward success. All the keys to that success are embedded in the feedback of your Ideal Individuals.
#4. Not Prioritizing Company Culture Over Cost and Time of Productivity
When your team members’ lives are improving because your brand is keeping its promise to them, then THEY will be more than happy to make 100% certain that your customers know that your brand can be trusted, and your brand keeps its promises. And that in a nutshell, is the definition of a healthy brand culture.
When people trust your brand, then and only then, can lasting relationships be formed—Always remember, no matter what business you are in, Brand Loyalty is your business plan.
Okay, so as an entrepreneur, you’ve created a something-special that is going to make people’s lives better. Entrepreneurs are experts in human happiness. They fuel their passions by locating common sources of human unhappiness and then providing the world with a solution. This higher purpose of serving the greater good of humanity is at the foundation of every great brand culture.
So why are entrepreneurs still hiring “talent” for $5? At that price-point, you already know that— to some extent, you’re only going to get what you pay for— either someone who is inexperienced and learning their craft on your time, or someone who doesn’t know how to communicate value. And at the end of the transaction, neither their lives, nor the life of your brand is made better for it.
Yes, having a sound financial plan is— of course, very important to the life of your brand, and yes—you should have a budget that is sustainable. But before you cut costs by reducing your brand’s investment in people, consider investing in a consultation from a great financial planner instead!
So many Entrepreneurs, SO MANY—will make the mistake of prioritizing cost and time of productivity over brand culture, not realizing that a brand’s investment in people will determine the people’s investment in the brand.
Brand culture can be defined in many ways, but because today we are looking to avoid the biggest and most common mistakes in branding, I’m going to give it to you like this—a little ‘tough love’ definition of brand culture: At the end of the day, your brand culture will be equal to the collective human happiness of everyone on your payroll. And whatever that brand culture amounts to, it’s going to get telegraphed “as is” to your customers.
So when it comes to knowing how to prioritize your brand culture over cost and time of productivity, just do what you do best as an entrepreneur—Be an expert in human happiness.
#5. Being Too Rigid to Pivot
Did you know that YouTube was originally created to be a dating site where people could upload videos of themselves describing their perfect partner? At their launch, no one wanted to be the first person to upload their video, so they turned to craigslist and offered women $20 to post on YouTube. No one responded.
Imagine if the creators had been so married to their original vision of YouTube becoming a popular dating site, that they just called it a wash when their first strategy didn’t work. Instead they chose to pivot, and for an entrepreneur—pivoting is part of the process.
When the creators of YouTube decided to open the platform up for posting videos about whatever people felt like posting, one of the founders kicked things off and uploaded the very first YouTube video: an 18 second clip entitled Me At the Zoo, and about a year later YouTube was acquired by Google for $1.65B.
If the founders of YouTube had viewed their initial difficulties as failure, and look—technically YouTube as a dating site, was a failed concept— but in an entrepreneur’s world failure isn’t the end. It’s just more information.
Thomas Edison once said: “I’ve never failed, I just discovered 10,000 ways that don’t work.”
Every swing-and-a-miss is one step closer to success for the entrepreneurs in 2021 who are flexible enough to pivot. Try something else, try something new, go back to the drawing board, and don’t give up!
Instead of hyperfocusing on one desired outcome, connect your drive, your inner passion, your entrepreneurial spirit—to your innate human desire to help the millions of people whose lives are going to improve because of your brand and don’t stop until you reach THEM. Let go of what you think it’s supposed to look like, because you won’t really know until after you get there, and you look back and say, “WOW, that was one wild ride.”
We are about to witness the resurrection of a planet, and only through the expression of a GREAT brand—Your brand— will you have the ability to make your products and services connect with the people who need your brand’s help, hope, love, support…the people in this world who need you the most. They are out there, and you can feel it. It is the calling that you hear deep in your gut that says “get this idea out into the world”—the force that is driving you forward— That calling is coming from somewhere that is bigger than you, bigger than your idea, and bigger than any one direct path. It’s coming from Them. Your ideal audience. Your future brand community. It’s the collective voice of the millions of people who need your brand urging you along, and there is no mapped out course. You are an entrepreneur, and you blaze your own trail. What is most important to reaching your goals, is to just keep going.
Thank you so much for joining me! If you enjoyed this blog post, I release new videos every Tuesday and Thursday on YouTube and FB, so follow me and keep treating these episodes as a masterclass for becoming an Inspiration to Millions with Branding. And as always the way to becoming an Inspiration to Millions starts with our motto: Love What You Do and Love How You Do It.