A fundamental to service-based businesses is catering to clients, and though that may seem colossally obvious, many businesses fail in doing so. This is likely based on the belief that all they need is the service they provide. Well, not true. For clients to find your business, be attracted to it, stick with it and possibly recommend it to more clients there is a lot more to be done.

If you have or intend to have a service-based business, recognizing and shying away from these mistakes are key tools to have. Keep reading for you might find one or two mistakes you can correct in your business immediately!

1. Undervaluing the business name!

You’ve definitely heard about how much first impressions matter, right? In this case, your business name is that first impression! It is important to consider that the moniker chosen for your company is the first thing clients will know about it, and the goal is to have it accurately reflect what your business actually is or does. In addition to this, the name sets the tone for the remainder of your branding initiatives. It shouldn’t just be about what your business does, but about how you want it to be perceived.

Consider whether you want a name that screams strength, one that portrays sweetness or delicacy, a name that evokes thoughts of elegance or one that is meant to appear friendly and welcoming. All of this is in a name, and that name will be the foundation on which you’ll build your clients’ perceptions of your company.

2. Brand = Logo

Another very common yet crucial mistake is the assumption that the brand is just a logo. This could not be furthest from the truth!

A business’s brand is meant to be an experience, and an experience is not curated within a single element. Beyond the image or graphics that make up your logo, your visual brand must include a consistent theme – color palettes, fonts and other visual attributes cohesive and in line with company identity.

Another pro-tip is to understand that a brand is the business’s identity and identity goes beyond the visuals. We will get into this with a bit more detail in just a few points!

3. Refusing to define a target market

Merely serving anyone that comes without ever establishing who your business is targeted towards IS. A. MIS. TAKE!

It might seem foolish to the untrained eye that providing service to just anyone would be wrong, but establishing a clientele is much more important than these singular clients.

As mentioned before, one of your primary goals as a service-based business should be to attract and keep your clients. A key component to doing that is understanding who they are so you can better target your services, your branding, the marketing and virtually everything else. Sadly, most companies fail to create a brand that resonates with their specific audience and therefore impedes the fulfillment of the main purposes of branding: to establish awareness, trust, recognition, and revenue.

A way to avoid this mistake is to carry out a target market research. This step should be taken preferably before creating the brand strategy. Take the time to define who needs or wants your service: Who would pay for what you offer? What are their critical attributes? What do they want to see? How can you best reach them? Honing in on these answers is the best way to understand the ideal audience your brand will speak to.

4. Not investing in improvement

Once you’ve found your niche, you can always make it grow. For the business to evolve and improve it should not remain static. This involves the marketing, the website, and the general branding – they all need investment of time and money. Even already converted clients need to be convinced to stay, and there are still more clients to attract. Neglecting this could keep the business in a rut.

Working with a strategic partner is a great way to help direct the business in a path of growth. One strategic partner every business needs is a marketing partner – because it is never good to underestimate the branding and specifically the online presence.

5. Lack of mission or purpose statement.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned so far it’s the importance of cohesion. A lack of purpose or mission statement is probably the worst mistake of all because it denies the brand a foundation for said cohesion. Every decision made within the company is based off its core mission. The mission is what holds the identity of the company and therefore determines the brand. So beyond the visual branding of your business, what it values and how it (or its people) carries itself is also a part of the brand. And this is precisely why it is important to have a clear notion of how the company operates, what it is and what it isn’t, what it does and what it doesn’t – or in simpler terms a purpose statement.

Think it out. Write it down. Make it clear: What is your vision for your business? What is its mission? How does it go about carrying out its purpose?

The purpose statement defines who you are and why the business exists in the market. For a company to grow, this foundational definition is very important.

These mistakes are so commonly made because businesses neglect the importance of branding. The brand of your business is how its identity is presented to current or future clients. It is what they know and recognize you by.

To find and lure these clients, it’s important to establish who they are and what they want – only then will you be able to brand your business according to the ones that matter. The business name is the immediate first impression, so it should be an accurate representation. The visual branding is to be valued too – remember it is more than just a logo!

A great way to keep it all consistent and cohesive is to make sure everything follows the company mission or purpose statement. Once your branding is “finalized” improve it and improve it again.

Now that you’ve learned about these basic branding tools, hurry up and put them into practice! If the execution proves too difficult for you to do by yourself, we would be happy to assist you in whatever capacity you need. Need a designer to work on your visual branding? Or help building a website? Book a free call with us now and let us know how we can help your business and ease your life!