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Mixed messages hurt your brand
Posted under Personal Branding Strategies by Linda Griffin
The Celebrity Branding Agency has a fantastic post about the dangers of being inconsistent with your brand image. Not only do you send mixed messages but you miss opportunities to engage your customers and strengthen your brand.
In their example, they talk about a Mercedes dealer who provides loaner cars to their best clients but the loaner cars are Hondas. The customer is left wondering why they didn’t receive a Mercedes loaner. If they have a good experience with the loaner, they may start thinking that it might be OK to consider another brand. None of us wants to be in a position where we are highlighting the value of our competitor’s product, but that’s exactly what this dealer is doing.
Just think about this. Their best customers are also repeat customers. They have bought from this dealer in the past. Due to the economic environment today, they may be thinking of postponing that next purchase decision. What a perfect opportunity to provide them with a later model Mercedes loaner and some information that would entice them to say: ” I gotta get one of these!”.
We each have the risk in our own businesses of falling into the trap that this car dealer did. We ignore opportunities to put ourselves in our customer’s shoes and come up with new ways to entice and amaze them. This week, look at all of the ways that you touch your customers and identify at least one area where you are missing an opportunity to extend your brand or where you are sending a mixed message and correct it. You’ll be rewarded with more loyal customers.