Let’s get one thing out of the way: building a brand isn’t just about picking some colours you like and slapping a logo on everything. If you’re here, you probably already know that. But what you might not know is just how easy it is to make a few key branding missteps that will quietly hold your business back.
Whether you’re DIYing your identity, working with a designer, or still figuring it all out — here are the most common branding mistakes we see (and how to sidestep them like the intentional, smart business owner you are).
1. Copying your competitors
It’s tempting, we get it. You see someone in your industry with a slick site, a pretty Instagram grid, or what looks like loads of traction — and the natural instinct is to try and reverse-engineer their success.
But here’s the truth: copying someone else’s strategy is the fastest way to blend in.
You don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes in their business. Just because their posts get likes doesn’t mean they’re making sales. And even if they are? That doesn’t mean their audience is your audience. Your business wasn’t built to be a carbon copy — so your brand shouldn’t be either.
Your job is to define your own strategy, attract your own dream clients, and show up in a way that actually reflects your values. That’s what makes your brand memorable.
2. Trying to speak to everyone
It’s counterintuitive at first — but casting a wide net is not the answer. In fact, the more you try to appeal to everyone, the more forgettable your brand becomes.
People are bombarded with thousands of messages every day. If your branding doesn’t feel personal and specific, it’ll be filtered out as noise.
Want to be remembered? Speak to one person. The right person. The one who sees your site or scrolls your feed and thinks, “Finally. Someone gets it.”
3. Only having one logo
One logo is not a brand.
We’ll die on this hill: a scroll-stopping, recognisable, usable brand identity needs more than just one version of your logo.
At the bare minimum, you need:
- A primary logo
- A secondary logo (horizontal or stacked)
- A submark or icon for favicons, social, and stamps
- Color variations for dark and light backgrounds
This isn’t just a design detail — it’s about giving your brand the tools to actually show up consistently everywhere it lives.
Want to skip the overwhelm and just get all these done for you? Our Brand Kits have you covered.
4. Forgetting about your customer’s journey
A beautiful brand that doesn’t consider the person using it isn’t a brand — it’s a vanity project.
Your visuals, your messaging, your content — all of it should support the journey someone takes from not knowing you exist to can’t live without you.
Where are they finding you? What questions do they have? What objections can you ease? How can you make them feel supported?
Knowing your audience like a best friend is what turns browsers into buyers — and buyers into loyal fans who tag you in their stories and DM you about your newsletter like you’re old pals.
5. Ignoring your brand guidelines
If you’ve invested in branding (or even DIY’d it with intention), stick to the system. Don’t go rogue because you saw a cute font on Pinterest or a trending colour on TikTok.
Your brand guidelines exist for a reason — to keep things cohesive, professional, and aligned with the strategy behind your brand.
If you find yourself wanting to constantly tweak or stray from the guidelines, it’s probably a sign that something deeper isn’t aligned. And that’s your cue to revisit and refine — not Frankenstein your brand with mismatched visuals.
6. Growing without a strategy
We’ve all done it: said yes to things that don’t align, chased growth for growth’s sake, and ended up with a brand that no longer feels like ours.
Strategy doesn’t have to mean a 50-page deck and 12 hours of meetings. It just means knowing:
- Who you’re here for
- What sets you apart
- What you want to be known for
- How your brand supports your bigger business goals
Without that clarity, your brand becomes reactive instead of intentional — and everything starts to feel harder than it needs to.
In summary? You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be intentional.
Branding is a living, evolving thing. It will shift as you grow — but it’s so much easier (and more powerful) when you get the foundations right early on.
If you’ve made a few of these mistakes, welcome to the club. We all have. What matters is what you do next.