A brand strategy workshop is a place where brands get the real taste of their inconsistencies. They suffer the chaos they have introduced in their own operations by investing in senseless marketing campaigns and irresponsible executions. If you as a brand are convinced to attend and indulge in a brand strategy workshop, it can literally be a game changer for you.
But, before you do so, here is an article that is just for you.
Why? Because we have listed the top 7 mistakes that entrepreneurs often make in a brand strategy workshop. Mistakes that you should avoid at all costs. This four-minute reading will save you four hours in a workshop. So without further ado, let us jump right into the list and start exploring the top 7 brand workshop mistakes that we want you to avoid.
1: Treating it like a party.
A brand strategy workshop is not for everyone; do not go in there with twenty people from your company. It is supposed to be attended by entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and your marketing and product lead, and that’s it. Not everyone has the skin for the game.
Don’t forget, the more people you bring in, the more clutter and confusion there will be. You need people who are firm decision-makers. They require a certain skill and understanding of branding strategies. It’s not a school group project; it should be a personal assignment.
2: Not knowing what you want
Suppose you enter a restaurant, and the waiter hands you the menu. You go through it and tell the waiter you don’t know what you want?
Now, a good waiter can help you with two or three options, a few special dishes, and one specialty, but if you are still saying, Nahh, that’s not the right thing,"
Is it the restaurant, the waiter, or the chef who’s at fault?
No one but you.
That’s exactly what will happen with you in a brand strategy workshop without clear goals and vision. If you are going to sound reluctant, naive, and timid to the strategist and present them with vague ideas of what you're trying to achieve, how exactly do you think the brand consultant will help you in the workshop? It’s like not knowing the destination and blaming the traffic.
Establish clear goals in your head and be expressive about it with the tiny details at the workshop. You need to be able to interpret your ideas to give them shape.
3: Hiding from the right arguments
It often happens that founders and entrepreneurs tend to ignore or very smartly try to dodge the arguments that are sincerely pointed towards their products, operations, and overall strategy. This is again a way of not sharing the truth with the brand strategists.
As per Sprout Social in 2024, 26% consumers say that they would be distrustful of the brands that post AI generated content. The more you try to hide, the more it becomes clear why the brand is failing in the market. Your method should be simple and easily interpretable to the strategist. Founders often do not understand this simple concept of being raw and truthful about their product, which leads to failure in identifying the distinct features of the product. Workshops are discomforting, but it's necessary to throw away the organs that are stalling the operations.
4: Surrendering to dominance
Remember, do not go to a brand strategy workshop with the idea of accepting whatever is offered to you on a platter. You need to learn how a creative brand consultant redefines your brand identity but for that you need to raise questions, share information, take insights, work on opinions, and assert your thoughts with clear communication.
You are there to tell them if something is not aligning right, that it's not working for you, and to ask to have another look. Never let the loudest voice win at a workshop. It's not a group discussion round for an interview.
There are always people who think they know better than you, but ultimately it’s your brand; you cannot let anyone help draw the cards for you.
5: Not knowing your target audience
This is such a common brand workshop mistake that you’ll find this topic in almost every article, blog, discussion, and forum there is about marketing and branding. Of course, the brand workshop is there to help you with it, but as a founder and entrepreneur, it is equally the responsibility of them to segment their audience and try to narrow down the people who are actually interested in their product.
Most founders do not know the difference between target market and target audience. This often leads to bad sales, low conversion rates, and stagnated revenue. When you are not delivering your content and resources to the right audience, all of it is simply going to waste.
6: Not ready to change
“You can take a horse to water but can’t make it drink.”
This 13th-century English proverb is perfect for founders and entrepreneurs that are just rigid and do not want to change. A brand strategy workshop will only work for you when you are ready to execute the ideas and take actionable measures to adopt change.
Spotify used the “Spotify Wrapped” to deliver an amazing brand story with the unique data-driven feature of letting its users know their listening habits over the last year. Such a strong impact on a workshop can help you induce in your marketing and branding activities, but it is up to you to make the final call and adapt to change.
There are hundreds of brands that we can name that are nowhere in the market just because they rejected the idea of evolving with time and walking step by step with innovation and technology. Never repeat their mistakes.
7: Focusing too much on logo and design
In the initial days, the founder of Airbnb spent months trying to design the perfect logo; still, he was not getting it right, and the platform confused its audience. People thought they were subscribing to air mattresses in some strangers’ living room.
Funny story, right?
This could be you, and then you won’t be laughing anymore.
The point we are trying to highlight here is that just a cool logo and a saucy punchline won’t cut it for you in the race of branding. Do not go into the workshop thinking that all you need is a change of logo, font, and color, and you are all set to win the market. Workshops will define new strategies for you; they will help you understand and look for minute details that you were not paying attention to.
Final thoughts
At last, we can only tell you not to fall for these seven brand workshop mistakes. Yes, it will help you redefine your brand story and personality, but it demands your attention and efforts too. Do not take a good brand strategy workshop for granted. Scale on it and make the best use of all the information, resources, and techniques.
