?? B2B Branding Nightmares: Tales from the Crypt!

Consider this your friendly warning to beware of the branding horrors lurking in the shadows...??

Happy Halloween to the B2B people in charge of branding, marketing, communicating, and selling your company.

For your reading pleasure, I'm unearthing terrifying tales of brands gone wrong that my friends and the B2B brand + digital experts at Moncur have bravely faced in the last 30+ years.

Dare to enter the crypt? ??

Here's a summary of the monstrous menagerie you'll encounter:

• The Shapeshifter: A master of disguise that mimics your competitors, stealing your unique identity and leaving you lost in a sea of sameness.
• The Zombie: An outdated website, decaying content, and a neglected online presence.
• The Digital Vampire: A creature that disguises itself as harmless digital campaigns, draining your budget and team.
• The Wendigo: A bogeyman that feasts on misaligned marketing efforts and cannibalizes content.
• The 20-Headed Hydra: A beast sprouts a new branded head with each and every M&A.

If you suspect your brand might be falling victim to one of these ghouls, then you can put it to the test with the Moncur Brand Audit tool!

And now for a dive into each of these ghastly ghouls... ??

The Shape Shifter:

This master of disguise lurks in the shadows of your industry, mimicking your competitor's every move and stealing your unique identity. It blends in with the competition, whispering promises of conformity and safety, but its true aim is to render your brand invisible, lost in a sea of sameness.

You can identify a shapeshifter when it's clear that multiple companies in the same space all use the same messaging and just put on a different digital skin (aka web design). They lack differentiation and a clear voice – essential elements for survival in today's insanely crowded and competitive market.

Worried a Shapeshifter might be stealing your spotlight? Here's an article to help you develop a distinct brand identity that can't be imitated:

Brand Differentiation: Be Clear, Be Bold, Be You.

The Zombie:

Zombies are old, dead versions of brands, still walking around because their company hasn't updated their website (their premier brand communication) in years. Instead of showcasing who they are & what they do today, they're stuck in the past, moaning and groaning with outdated messaging and decaying design, shambling through the digital landscape, and scaring away potential customers/clients.

For example, some of the zombies we've seen recently have outdated products, services, and solutions still on their website - confusing and frustrating prospects!

To keep your company from being victim to a Zombie, companies in the B2B space should look to update their websites every 2-3 years.

The Digital Vampire:

This creature disguises itself as harmless digital campaigns, but its true nature is revealed in the chilling results: wasted budgets, missed opportunities, and a slow decline in brand vitality. Instead of driving brand awareness, the Digital Vampire sucks the life out of your brand through poor digital marketing strategies – campaigns unrelated to your brand, your audience, and your overall goals.

And like any good vampire, it doesn't stop there. This fiend also drains the energy of your internal team, leaving them exhausted and spread too thin.

If you don't want your marketing efforts become a scary story when you look back on the ROI, then this article might help you slay the Digital Vampire with a digital marketing strategy that grows your business:

Troubleshooting Your B2B Organic Social Media Tactics

The Wendigo:

This branding bogeyman doesn't just feast on misaligned marketing efforts – it devours them whole, leaving behind a trail of inconsistent messaging and cannibalized content.

The Wendigo resides in internal departments with no clear brand standards or strategy. They're like ravenous wolves, tearing apart existing marketing materials and repurposing them in a haphazard fashion. The result? A Frankenstein mess of a brand that confuses customers and fails to drive results.

Departments suffering from a resident Wendigo are forever hungry and never satisfied – as their sales/marketing efforts aren't helping drive revenue. As they cannibalize and tear apart branding standards, they leave your business starving for positive ROI...

Some ways to keep the Wendigo at bay include establishing clear brand standards, develop a cohesive messaging framework, and creating fresh, engaging content that keeps your brand consistent and recognizable.

The 20-Headed Hydra:

This beast lurks in the shadows of companies growing through mergers and acquisitions. With each M&A, it sprouts a new head, with its own distinct personality and message, convoluting your overall brand and strategy, and creating a mess out of your marketing communications.

The result? A brand so fragmented it speaks in tongues, leaving your audience bewildered and lost.

Marketing communications become a jumbled mess, brand architecture and strategy dissolve into a tangled web of contradictions, and your overall brand identity suffers from a cacophony of different personalities, trying to rear their own branded head.

Don't let the Hydra's many voices silence your brand! Achieve brand unity after an M&A by following the 2 steps laid out in this article:

How to Succeed at B2B Branding After a Merger or Acquisition

Well, there you have it my friends, 5 of the most terrifying, but also more-common-than-you-think, branding monsters on the prowl in the B2B landscape.

Make sure you familiarize yourself with them, so that they can't come to haunt your business too!

And finally, if you suspect your company may be home to one of these fiends, or if you want to locate the gaps in your defense to ensure that one doesn't take up residence - you can put your brand to the test with the Moncur Brand Audit Tool.

In about 4 mins, it'll grade your brand and give you expert recommendations on how to improve your messaging, visual brand, website, and digital marketing strategy.

All you have to do is answer a few questions, and our completely automated tool (yeah, you read that right: no sales call) will lay out your brand's strengths and weaknesses, and give your company a tailored plan for how to improve.

?? You can access it using this link.

?? Happy Halloween!

Jordan