Branding is all about consistency. If you are constantly changing your message, you’ll confuse your target market, and lose money while doing it. Now more so than ever in the recruitment sector it’s imperative that employers steer clear of the following brand sabotaging mistakes when managing their employer brands online and off!

1. Lack of a brand identity
Creating a brand involves analysing every aspect of your business and how it is experienced. Branding is driven by consumers, but is always started at the top of your company. You must know your brand inside and out and sell it with passion before you can expect anyone else to do it. Marketing legend, Jack Trout, in 1969, said what holds true today. “Consumers don’t stop to figure you out; they just keep going.” You must have a memorable and unmistakable brand identity that stops consumers in their tracks.

2. Lack of consistency
Great brands promise consumers things that they value. The power and truth of a brand is judged by how consistently it is delivered upon. For this reason, the brand must be “lived” within an organisation. In an organisation with a powerful brand, everyoe is a brand manager by their actions. Your customers are your best promoters. That’s because many companies invest time and money letting consumers know what they’re promising but ultimately fail to tell their own employees just what that promise means for them. So, make sure your employees are well aware of the brand promise. If you are conveying your brand through living it successfully, your loyal customers will catch on and do the same.

3. Changing Message
Communicating your brand paints a picture in the consumer’s mind about your brand and about the consumers your brand seeks to attract. When we buy a brand, we buy the concept that brand stands for because we like what it says about us. You want your brand to consistently communicate the right message to the right audience every time. Consistency is important for several reasons: You want the audience to memorise the message, you want a consistent reputation, and you want to build longevity and market share. Think carefully before launching yet another change in your brand message.

4. No Point of Difference
Also known as Unique Sales Proposition (USP), Point of Difference is the one, positive trait a given brand possesses that would not be duplicated with success by any competing brand. In order to create a differentiation that won’t be imitated, you have to think beyond the core benefits that are considered important in your brand’s product category. Ask yourself: “Why do people want this product or service from me instead of from my competitors?” Define your point of difference and how it will separate you from the pack.

5. Promising everything under the sun
Of course you should live up to your brand’s promise, but don’t promise everything from here to Timbuktu. While your brand promise should be relevant and up-to-date, don’t make large changes that will confuse your market. Are you ready to change your tagline or logo? Companies get tired of their own marketing way before the market does. And take note: customers remember what the company has promised, and they’re highly attuned to whether that promise is kept. If companies fail to deliver, consumers will skip to a competitor without a second thought.

Don’t make any of these business-flopping mistakes when you are ready to launch your employer brand. Getting some expert advice and credible feedback before you dive headfirst into a big hr or employer brand campaign may be a good idea. Take the time to do it right and you’ll have a lasting brand that prospective employees will instantly recognise, remember, and respect whenever they see it.