If you want to completely annihilate your Shopify brand, ignore your tribe and don’t have a distinct vibe. That was branding expert Sarah Seaton’s key message at the Shopify Midlands Meetup in February.
Sarah, who helps various e-commerce clients craft their brand messages, was at the event to discuss brand consistency.
But rather than giving advice on how to succeed as a Shopify brand or business, she listed eight surefire ways to fail. Here’s how to break your brand in 8 easy steps:
1. Only manage your favourite brand touchpoints
Your brand is an ecosystem, an ‘interconnected web’ of multiple touchpoints including things like print, social, email and third party reviews. If you only pay attention to your favourite touchpoints, you’ll inevitably miss out on important ones that can actually help you grow.
2. Have zero personality
A great way to obliterate your brand? Do not have any kind of tone or substance. Hide that ‘Beyonce boldness,’ and definitely do not let your George Clooney charm show.
3. Be everything to everybody
By deciding that the world is your audience, you’re guaranteed not to alienate or offend anyone. This lack of targeting is also a fantastic way to break your brand.
4. Let them forget you
If you really want to break your brand, change up your tone and vibe as much as possible so that you become unrecognisable and, as a result, completely forgettable.
5. Spend your time reading how to gain 5,000 IG followers in one day
Falling for quick-fix tactics and vanity metrics is never as good as having a real, holistic strategy. Reading up on these is a wonderful way to break your brand.
6. See from only your perspective
The only way to improve your brand is by looking at it from an outsider’s perspective. If you really want to break it, then trust your own point of view. Don’t do any surveys, don’t look at customer data, and don’t engage with your audience to get more real data.
7. Copy your competitors
Who needs uniqueness when you can be a carbon copy of what already exists? Break your brand by being indistinguishable from the crowd.
8. Don’t do as Argent do
Argent is a clothing brand specialising in functional and stylish suits for women. They have a clear message and a distinct tone that’s evident as soon as you land on their home page. If you want to break your brand, do not have a unique vibe like Argent. In the words of Sarah, ‘your brand is an ever-changing ecosystem of interconnected touchpoints that should start and finish with your consumer.’ So, if you’d rather not break it, then listen to your tribe and show them your vibe. It’s as simple as that.
This blog was created by Blend Commerce and based on a presentation given by Sarah Seaton at the Shopify Midlands Meetup in February 2019.
