Why some brands succeed “digitally” and others do not? These are, from our point of view, the 10 capital sins of brands when they want to develop a digital bet.

1. Absence of digital thinking: Attitude 1.0

Is it my digital native brand ?. When we talk about brands, we also talk about people. They are the ones that print a character, a culture, a way of doing things, some priorities. Do we really think in digital terms? The change that is “digital” and new ways of interacting internally with customers, suppliers, etc., is not installed in the minds of the main strategic managers of most companies. If you think digitally, you act according to its principles. Today the digital natives are beginning to arrive at the managerial positions, but that change, although incipient, far from it is generalized.

We continue thinking about promoting ourselves and not in dialogue, we want to sell but not share. We still see customers as those who buy us and not as those who can bring a lot of value to a brand that is also theirs and that, as they participate in its construction, generate empathy and loyalty, if not prescription.

We still prefer to compete to cooperate. We still see our competitors as enemies and not, also, as possible allies.

As a result, there are no doors open to innovation or windows to new opportunities and possible changes. We do not have a manifest will to interact and share. We want to get on the digital car but there is no true 2.0 attitude.

2. Stay with your back to the market

The 1.0 attitude of the past puts us back to reality and in a dangerous position. Many companies decide to hire an external community. And a community manager is neither more nor less than the voice of the client within the company and the voice of the brand in the digital environment. Therefore, better before then should be within the company. And if it is inside, it has to have enough weight to influence the strategic and tactical decisions of the brand. Not in vain, has a privileged information, the market.

3. Non-vigilance

Whether through an internal person or department or through an external agency, a permanent monitoring of what happens on the network should be generated. Monitoring the conversations of customers and non-customers regarding our brand, sentiment, reputation … In parallel, we must keep track of what our competitors do.

4. Inconsistency with the general brand strategy

In part, due to the above, there is usually a bipolar discourse of two non-existent worlds. It is still talking about on and off, general and digital. It is a division that has no reason to be. In a very short time, everything will be integrated and we will not talk about the digital but about means to relate with the clients, about channels. The owner of this article will no longer make sense. In that future, not so distant, the first question that we must continue to ask will be: what is my brand? What is its positioning? What is the relevant difference it brings to the market? What is the general strategy?

So, in front of questions like “Do I have to be on facebook, on twitter or both?”, Or another “what’s better, an emailing campaign or a sponsorship on the network?”, The answer will remain the Same: “It depends, what are the general objectives? What are the clients you want to seduce? With what budgetary fork do we count ?. ”

The coherence with what the brand is, proposes and defends, remains the maxim.

5. Short-sightedness

A digital branding strategy is a long-term strategy. Web 2.0, SEO, SEM, SM, Advertising, sponsorships, publicity on the web, email marketing, viral marketing, advergaming, newsletters, promotional campaigns, communication in social networks, virtual environments, mobile marketing … Every sum and everything must be taken into account as an alternative consistent with the general strategy. But, the obsession with short-term results can discourage us from a bet that has no turning back.

6. Forget about the mobile

Tracing the strategy of branding and general communication, counting on all or part of the channels (press, radio, tv, cinema, magazines, press, internet), we can not forget the mobile. The mobile is the total channel, it is the extension of oneself, it is the opportunity to communicate what the individual wants at all times and in any place. Not in vain is the channel that usually gets closer at the time of purchase. Many brands, probably because they do not know how to do it, forget this way of generating brand engagement. And it is not only used to send promotions but also to inform and provide added value through the multiple applications. In short, it is a fantastic channel (18 million smart phones in Spain) to improve relations with users and strengthen brand positioning.

7. Absence of commitment

The customers are not stupid. And they are not real fools (Mediamarkt still thinks so). Therefore, customers can distinguish a committed and passionate brand with what it does, a brand that only wants to have a presence in social media to follow the market trend, developing a digital strategy to use. Users are bored with the android brands that develop clonal digital strategies. Interact, share, offer value, excite and really commit yourself. The absence of authenticity is usually what the brands project when the commitment does not exist. Users detect it quickly.

8. Opacity

Customers want to know who is behind the brands, their history, how the products they sell are made, whether or not there is corporate social responsibility, etc. They want to know everything.

On the other hand, as Douglas Adams (writer and British radio scriptwriter) said that “nothing travels faster than light, except bad news”. Effectively and now thanks to the internet, even faster. And is that no brand, is vaccinated with respect to the possibility of being unmasked.

Therefore, there is no other choice, it is the moment of truth, it is time to do things well and inform correctly. Otherwise, we will be portrayed, there are thousands of people who can act as Wikileaks of our brand.

9. Not recognizing our mistakes

It has to do with the previous sin. It is the tendency to hide the truth, to not discover our failures, to lie. It should be remembered that “what does not kill you, makes you stronger”. We start from the criticism of our products or services to reinvent ourselves. We convert weaknesses into strengths and say “yes, we are wrong, that’s why we have changed and launched the new product or improved service”

10. Innaction

Bidirectionality and the need for permanently segmented and almost personal response, innumerable digital media, multiple tools, technology in permanent change … Definitely, the commitment to building a strong brand in the digital environment, is a strenuous job and not always rewarded as one expects . In addition, it has a high dose of unpredictability. Despite and also due to the above, there must be a necessary permanent effort to be up to date, propose interesting content, generate experiences of real value and continue to innovate. Otherwise, we will expire for our clients.