Four Common Reasons Why Some Brands Fail

It’s no secret that some businesses never seem to get off the ground. Sometimes this is because of a bad business plan, poor management, or because the business wasn’t a good idea. While these issues can contribute to a business’s failure, a surprising number of times, the main reason the business fails is because of poor branding.

There are several reasons bad branding issues result in a business failing to catch on.

They Fail to Connect to Their Target Market

It doesn’t matter how good a business is. If the business fails to catch the eye of its target market, they aren’t going to make it. The problem is that the company usually spends all of its money casting a wide net with its marketing efforts instead of investing in consumer research and pinpointing the type of branding that resonates with its ideal customer.

The Brand Fails to Live Up to Brand’s Promise

One of the common mistakes we encounter when we’re looking at a business that failed because of the branding is that the company failed to live up to the brand’s promise. We see this the most frequently in businesses that novice business owners started. They have a great idea but aren’t confident about how they want to handle their branding, so they look to other businesses for ideas. The result is a brand that looks good but doesn’t quite match the business or product/service they’re offering.

Overextending the Brand

Recently we’ve noticed an uptick in branding failures that aren’t the result of the company having a bad brand but that the company is simply trying to do too much with its brand. This usually happens when a successful company expands its product line or offers more services. While the brand perfectly fits the original idea, it jars with the extension, and customers get confused. When it comes to expansion, careful consideration must be given to whether the company should expand under the same brand or if it would be better off creating two separate brands.

Creating Sub-Brands that Hurt the Primary Brand

While we are in favor of creating sub-brands, we do urge you to use caution. We’ve seen cases of businesses that launched a good sub-brand without realizing that the sub-brand was sending a message that ultimately contradicted and, in some cases, even hurt the main brand.

Does the process of branding your start-up leave you feeling overwhelmed? Feel free to contact us. We take the stress and mystery out of successful brand creation.