When Your Brand Lets You Down (And How to Spot the Warning Signs Before Your Customers do)
Sometimes your brand just isn’t. doing. what. it’s. supposed. to. do.
You’ve got all the necessary pieces in place: logo, website, maybe even a super catchy tagline, but something isn’t working. You struggle to build an audience, or the audience you have isn’t engaging, your team (and maybe even you) seem to stumble over the words in describing what you do, and you’re not attracting the kind of clients you actually want to serve.
So what’s going on? In some fashion, and for some reason you can’t quite identify, your brand isn’t pulling its weight, and you’re seeing the output, or lack of it.
The logjam shows up in subtle ways, like hesitating before posting because you’re not sure if something is “on brand,” or rewriting your About page for the fifth time because it still doesn’t feel quite right. It shows up in more obvious ways too: confused prospects who might not quite get why they’re there, lackluster sales, or a visitor who abandons your website after the first click.
A strong brand should work for you, even if, and especially when you’re not there. It should simplify your marketing and business decisions, magnetize the right customers, and help you show up consistently with confidence.
And if that logo, website, tagline, etc. are not doing that? Then your brand might be letting you down.
Common signs your brand isn’t doing its job:
You’re hesitant to send people to your website, or worse, you avoid sending them there altogether.
Your messaging isn’t specific, or constantly changing.
You and your team give different responses or use different words when asked what you actually do.
You’re attracting clients who aren’t a good fit.
Your visuals, tone, and offer all feel like they’re playing on different teams.
You’re constantly reinventing your materials just to feel current.
None of these are failures. They’re symptoms of misalignment, and good news is: misalignment can be fixed.
Why brand break-down happens
Brands naturally evolve as businesses grow. What once felt aligned in your first year of business might not fit your vision, values, or audience today. That’s not a branding emergency, that’s just a signal it’s time to recalibrate.
If you think of your brand like a compass, pointing in the right direction, every part of your business moves with alignment and purpose. But when it’s off, even by a few degrees, you eventually end up miles from where you intended to go.
Change is a natural part of business growth. Your business will evolve and pivot over time, and it should be a normal expectation that your brand will need to grow and change with it.
You’ve identified some brand let-down. Now what?
Start by taking stock. Is your brand still aligned with:
Who you are now?
Who you want to reach?
What you want to be known for?
If the answer is “not really,” it’s time for a tune-up. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to burn everything down. Sometimes a complete rebrand is in order, but often, it’s about refining what’s already there by realigning your voice, visuals, and message with the business you have now.
Need help spotting the gaps?
Hopefully the list of common signs that your brand is sleeping at the wheel help you to diagnose areas where you might need to revisit your branding. But we also know that brand can feel extremely personal, and most business owners (ourselves included) can often be too close to it to see the forest through the trees.That’s exactly why we created the Alkimie Brand Clinic a free, three-step experience to help you figure out what’s working, what’s not, and what to do about it.
If you know it’s time to revisit your brand (or suspect that it might be), we’re here to guide you through the branding concepts you need to know, a self-audit to assess your brand’s health, and a live Q&A where you can ask questions and get feedback from our team.
Let’s get your brand back in alignment!