Is Your Branding Really the Issue Behind Your Business Failure?

In this video, Matt reacts to the idea that the main issue with any business failure is its branding. Do you think he’ll agree?

There are tons of people out on social media giving business advice. Some of it is good advice, but most of it isn’t good. In this new series watch CapForge’s owner react to different advice videos. He’s an expert in all things business and has 20+ years of experience under his belt. Some of the things he reacts to might even surprise you!

Video Transcript: 

Business Advice Video:

Most small business owners will think their business is s***, but the reality is that they just haven’t built a brand. Because a brand is the reason why people buy from a business. A lot of small business owners will think that the problem is them. They’ll think that the problem is their product. They’ll think that the problem is price or it’s oversaturated or no one actually wants to buy what they have to offer. But the problem is they just haven’t built a brand to convince that audience type that what they have to offer is valuable.

Matt’s Reaction: 

Okay, I disagree with this in most cases. Maybe your product does suck, maybe your prices aren’t good, maybe you haven’t put enough effort in, maybe your customers really don’t want what you’re selling. It may also be that you didn’t create a good brand but that isn’t necessarily the first place I would look. You could create a horrible product that nobody wants and then spend a fortune designing an amazing logo and doing all kinds of branding to really put your stamp on that product but it’s still a crappy product that nobody wants. So what good did that do you? Yes, it’s helpful to have a brand but in one of the other videos we did recently where we talking about branding and positioning, I think positioning is the much more important piece of that. That is finding the segment of customers who you are most aligned with, who most want your product the specific way that you offered at the price, and way you do it. And that figuring that out and mastering your positioning in the market for the product or service that you’re selling, that’s the most important thing to do. And that will help you determine the price and the color and the way you sell it and the features that it has and the marketing you do and also the brand. But you can’t brand something that’s otherwise crap. And just because you have a brand expect that suddenly that’s gonna fix it. So it’s not that your business does or doesn’t suck, it may suck it may not, but having a brand stapling a brand onto an otherwise sucky business is not gonna fix it necessarily. So figure out the positioning and the market space you’re in. And the customers what they wanna buy and why they wanna buy it. And all those things will help you then establish your position and build a brand. But just saying the reason your business isn’t doing well is because you haven’t spent enough time on branding, really misses the whole point of what the business is setting out to try and do. Brand is the part that establishes what the business is about, but the business needs to know that first not after the fact.