Everyday, our customers are exposed to countless brands. Brands are everywhere — in their homes, on their commute, in their workplace, and on their smartphone. This is the nature of the world we live in. We’re always connected, giving brands near constant access to our ears and eyes.
This is a truth that means a lot for the small business owners in the water damage restoration industry. It means that our brand has to stand out. We don’t need to simply create a brand that stands out above our direct competition, we need to cut through the noise created by all the brands marketing to our potential customers
That isn’t easy, but it is necessary. In fact, we believe your advertising dollars are being wasted if your branding is weak.
Why Branding Matters
Your company’s brand is the perception people have of your company. When your audience thinks of you water damage restoration business, your brand is any word, image, or characteristic they associate with your identity.
It’s not just about the logo, it’s about what they think and feel when they see your logo. Reputation is even a part of you brand, built by spreading the word about the quality of the work you do and how people are treated when they work with you.
The act of branding is the work you do to shape perception of your company. Anytime you make tweaks to your company’s image or share something online, it ultimately becomes a part of your brand. And, the way our companies are perceived ultimately affects the success as a business.
More specifically, strong branding builds trust that you are a company that delivers on your promises. Trust is built not just by doing what you say you will do, but by making sure your target market knows about it by encouraging happy customers to share their reviews online.
Strong branding will improve the recognition of your business. With enough exposure to your brand, the people you are marketing to will automatically know who you are. Lastly, branding builds up your company from the inside out. The right brand will inspire your employees because they’re proud to work where they work.
The end result? Your marketing efforts will be more successful, ultimately improving your company’s sales.
Three Mistakes That Weaken Your Branding
So, you know that strong branding matters, but do you know what mistakes weaken your branding over time? These are the things you need to avoid if you want to reap the benefits of a strong brand and avoid wasting your advertising dollars.
You’re Not Making it a Priority
Building a brand is about a whole lot more than buying a cookie cutter logo off of Fiverr. If your brand is not a priority, it is going to be problematic. Branding should be well thought, cohesive, and memorable. If you’re unwilling to spend the time and money to create a well thought out brand, it will show.
Your Brand is Inconsistent
Inconsistency weakens your branding. If there are differences between marketing materials, you’re confusing your message and potential customers. If your business cards, websites, and social media all have different logos, verbiage, or colors, you’re getting in the way of your own mission to build recognition of your brand. Remember, it takes several impressions to build brand recognition. So, you want your target audience seeing and hearing a consistent message time and time again.
You Can’t Commit
Rebranding also hurts brand recognition. While you may think you’re improving your brand, the more frequently you make changes, the longer it will take to build a reputation. It’s one things to make small, occasional changes to improve your company’s image. It’s another thing entirely to continue to reinvent the wheel, hoping something will catch the eye of potential customers. Commit to your brand and move forward with continuing to create evidence that confirms that brand image.
You’re Impatient
Not matter how much time and money you put into your brand, it’s probably going to feel like those efforts aren’t generating results quickly enough, at least for a time. Building a reputation takes time and it takes consistency. Don’t be so impatient with the process that you give up or turn to something new.
At More Floods, we help our network members build a brand and share it with their target audience. To learn more about the branding resources we offer, click here or call 1-866-667-3356.