Most of us know poor branding when we see it. We also know what marketing looks like when it has the potential to change the world.
But what’s the difference between these two avenues that businesses go down? Why do some perform really well while others don’t?
That’s what we look at in this post. We explore how marketing is effortless for some companies, but a real struggle for a lot of others.
Bad Marketing Is All About Buying Now
Have you ever noticed that bad marketing always seems to be about “buying now” and pressuring the customer to take action. It’s something you see repeatedly online and wherever you go.
The problem with this approach is that it is about asking and begging. You’re essentially revealing to customers that you need to be loud and direct to get any attention at all.
Now compare that to a brand that doesn’t do anything like this. Instead, it focuses on building attraction.
When you have the latter, it changes the entire game. Branding isn’t something that you’re asking your audience to do as a favor to you. Instead, it’s something that they feel they’ve done themselves. If they like your brand, it should be much more reliant on how they feel about it and judge it to themselves. Your role should, ideally, be minimal in that interaction. For example, people will often say “I’m an Apple person.”
Bad Marketing Is Just A Loud Voice
Bad marketing also often takes the form of a loud voice. Brands feel like they have to be shouty and over-the-top to get people’s attention.
Of course, for some companies, this works. For many, though, it doesn’t. It can come across as unsophisticated.
The best way to get away from this habit is to change the way you think about messaging. Instead of just getting on a megaphone and pushing a message out there, you want to do something that pulls people in. They should want to be a part of your story.
And to do this. You need proper storytelling. There needs to be a plot where your business is at the center, solving all your audiences’ problems in a way that no one else really can.
Bad Marketing Changes With Trends
Another thing you might have noticed is that bad marketing changes with trends. The moment tastes adjust and the social media platforms switch, brands seem to do the same.
You want to avoid that, if possible. Branding should be consistent and unafraid to be countercultural in some situations.
For example, how many brands are chasing clicks on TikTok today? Quite a few, right?
But how many brands are able to create their own trends and bring people with them? That number is far lower.
Brands that act like this completely change the game. They’re often able to write rules on their terms because they’ve tapped into something that a lot of people never knew they wanted, or didn’t realize they could actually have.
Bad Marketing Needs A Budget
Have you noticed that many of the least successful branding campaigns also have enormous budgets?
That’s another problem you’ll want to avoid when you get deeper into your marketing game. If you’re spending a lot of money but not really getting much back, it’s a sign you need to change tack.
Just look at what Tesla did for the first ten years of its existence. It was hardly advertised at all. Instead, it had a social media hype machine, generated by thousands of loyal fans who just spoke about what the company was doing. This marketing meant that Tesla was essentially able to put all of its energy into design and operations, building the best electric vehicles available at the time.
If you can bring this sort of energy to your industry, you’ll dominate. Leveraging user-generated content is the way to go on many of today’s social media networks.
Bad Marketing Replicates Competitors
You’ll also find that bad marketing copies rivals. Companies that don’t have anything new to say often just take cues from market leaders.
This approach can be effective. Just look at how many YouTubers have copied Mr Beast’s formats and been quite successful with them. But this approach never makes businesses market leaders in their fields.
That differs from companies that do something different. These never look desperate and always attract high-value companies. They gather their marketing team around them and look for a way to be original.
Bad Marketing Dies On Low-Quality Websites
You’ll also notice that low-quality marketing always seems to be linked to poor websites. These pages don’t convert and use none of the tools needed for success.
That’s where a decent website designer could turn things around. Top brands hire these to ensure they’re following all the rules and cues they should be, and that their landing pages are able to convert as many customers as possible.
Bad Marketing Ends With The Campaign
So many businesses also insist on ending their marketing with their campaigns. They seem like discrete units, even if the world doesn’t really operate that way.
Bad marketing often begins in the minds of marketing managers. They believe they need to shut one campaign down before another ends. But that’s not how things work in the minds of consumers. They just see continuity, so if your brand isn’t making moves, they’re not going to see it.
That’s where a bit of creativity can really help. Being inventive and figuring out how to continue campaigns and join the dots is very useful.
Bad Marketing Targets Everyone
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, bad marketing targets everyone. It’s not specific.
This issue is extremely common in companies that want to please their entire audience. However, it’s a bad idea. The best approach is to ask for the maximum amount of money possible from the customers who will derive the most value. This reduces risks significantly and means you’re always working with people who really need your service to thrive.