It doesn’t matter how big your company is or how many products you’ve sold. In aviation branding, even the smallest mistakes can cost you.
We’ve seen it ourselves.
Want to make sure an aviation branding mishap doesn’t throw your company off course? Here are the biggest mistakes we’ve seen to date:
1. Thinking branding is a one-time to-do.
Too many companies approach branding as a one-time project – particularly in the old-school industry of aviation.
Though your organization certainly does need a physical, tangible branding suite with defined logos, colors and slogans, the work doesn’t stop once these are checked off your to-do list.
In fact, branding never stops.
That’s because branding isn’t just a noun. It’s a verb. It’s an ongoing effort to carve your company’s place in the world – to make it stand out in customers’ minds, to oust the competition, and to strengthen the unique message and value you have to offer. It requires constant work and attention, and it should be a factor in every effort you undertake.
2. Forgetting why you started.
Your company first started for a reason. Maybe there was a void in the market you wanted to fill, or maybe you found a way to do it better, bigger or faster. Maybe you just had a great passion for the industry. Whatever that reason was, it should remain at your company’s core today.
Your branding efforts should revolve around that original vision, and instilling that initial idea or passion within your customers should be the end goal. If it’s not, refocus on what makes your company who it is – and find ways to drive that home with your target audience.
3. Being too internally focused.
Your team might have great ideas, but if they don’t know who they’re talking to or what challenges that audience is facing, they’re never going to create branding strategies that truly resonate.
Great branding requires working from the outside in – understanding your customers’ needs, wants, desires and even demographics first, and then positioning your brand to meet those unique requirements in every way possible.
It might sound difficult, but the digital landscape we live in has made tuning in to customer feedback incredibly easy. Use social media, online reviews, surveys and other tools to really get to know your audience and what makes them tick.
4. Putting the branding burden on one department.
Branding isn’t an effort reserved just for your marketing department. It should drive every strategy across every division and team in your organization.
From sales and customer service to marketing and IT, every department needs to be on board with your branding, using it to create targeted, purposeful solutions that really resonate with your audience. In fact, representatives from each team should be involved in creating your branding, so that it truly speaks to your organization as a whole from the outset.
How Does Your Aviation Branding Stack Up?
Have you made any of these aviation branding mistakes? Want help honing in on the right strategy for your unique business and customers? We can help. Get in touch with Haley Aerospace & Aviation Marketing today.
