The Biggest Mistake Brands (Experts) Make

The Biggest Mistake Brands (Experts) Make

SMM specialists search, make beautiful packaging, shoot creative videos – all in order to “stand out” against a contrasting background. But if the product itself is just one of the main originals, then no visual effects and hyped content will save it. Let’s take a closer look together with WGG SMM agency from Dubai.

The problem is that people do not just buy a product or a beautiful picture – they buy a value that solves their problem.

Mistake #1: brands try to “stand out” with the help of interchangeable attributes – logos, packaging, influencers – without providing a contextual presentation of the reason to choose them.

Mistake #2: the company believes that strong marketing can pull out a weak product.

But if the product is no different, sooner or later it will lose to a more useful, convenient and understandable competitor.

How to make your product really like it?

1. Deep understanding of the image, not abstract avatars.

Most brands analyze their audience by superficial criteria: age, gender, income level, location. But such data does not explain why people make one choice or another.

True understanding begins with its motivation. What is really important to a person? What problems does he solve with the help of the product? What fears prevent him from making a choice?

Nike in the 80th tour was far from the first brand in the sports shoe market. But the company realized that its audience was buying not just sneakers, but an opportunity to overcome themselves. This is how the slogan “Just Do It” appeared, advertising campaigns began to be built around the unique stories of athletes and people who challenge themselves. As a result, Nike stopped competing with other shoe manufacturers – it became part of the culture.

If a brand wants to take a strong position, it must understand its customers better than they understand themselves. Only then will the product be truly popular.

2. MVP: the product doesn’t have to be “perfect”, it has to be tested

Many companies spend years refining a product, trying to release it in a “perfect” form. But perfection is an illusion. Until the product is tested on only users, it is impossible to predict what will work and what won’t.

Example: Tesla and the electric car market

When Elon Musk launched Tesla, electric cars became “toys” with a short range.

Instead of making a mass-market car right away, he created an expensive sports car, the Tesla Roadster.

This car proved that electric cars can be fast, stylish, and powerful.

Only then did Tesla launch the Model S, X, and the more affordable Model 3.

Bottom line: Tesla didn’t spend billions on a mass-market product until it was sure the market was ready for it.

The smartest approach is to create a minimum viable product version (MVP) and test it first. This allows you to quickly identify weaknesses, understand what is really important for users, and not waste resources on unnecessary features.

Companies that successfully declare are not afraid to produce raw products – they know that this is the key to success in rapid development and continuous improvement.

3. Packaging = it’s not just “beautiful”, it’s about meaning.

The mistake of many brands is to think that packaging = design. Real packaging is a way to increase the value of the product.

Apple made the packaging of its devices as part of the user experience. When a person hands over an iPhone box, he immediately warms up to the minimalism, quality of materials, thoughtfulness of details. This is not just a beautiful box – it is a psychological trigger that weighs the perception of the product.

The right packaging should not be from the face – it should emphasize the soul. The client should immediately understand what he is getting and why it is important. If the packaging is overloaded with unnecessary details, complex designs or visual noise, it only confuses the user.

The brands that make the packaging transparent, concise and honest win.

4. Sales channels: you don’t need to sell everywhere, you need to sell where people buy.

Many companies make mistakes by trying to promote the product on all channels.

But the right question is: where are people actually looking for your product?

How to choose sales channels?

  • Where do people most often search for such products?
  • How do they make decisions?
  • What forms influence their choice?

But the right question is: where are people actually looking for your product?

To understand where exactly your audience is looking for your product, it is important to conduct a detailed analysis of their behavior and preferences. Here are specific steps and tools that will help with this:

Analysis of existing customers:

  • Collecting purchase data: Study what components are already ready to sell to you. These can be online stores, social networks, physical points of sale, etc.
  • Feedback: Conduct surveys or interviews with current customers to find out where they heard about your product and why they chose your brand.

Online Behavior Research:

  • Web Analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics to track where visitors are coming from to your site, what pages they are viewing, and which traffic sources are most effective.
  • Social Media: Analyze activity and responsiveness across platforms. Determine which networks are driving more engagement and conversions.

Cohort Analysis:

  • User Segmentation: Divide customers into groups based on specific characteristics (such as first purchase date) and study their behavior over time. This helps you understand which connections are most effective for different market segments.
  • Tools: Platforms provide options for conducting cohort analysis and evaluating the effectiveness of different options.

Compare Comparisons:

  • Monitoring is happening: Study where your competitors are promoting their products. This can provide clues on how to monitor your business channels.
  • Tools: Services like LikeWeb allow you to analyze traffic sources and their marketing strategies.

Test new opportunities:

Experiments: Run pilot campaigns across different channels and measure their effectiveness. This will help you determine which ones bring the greatest return.

Analyze results: Use metrics such as customer acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (LTV) to evaluate the profitability of each channel.

Understanding where your audience is looking for your product requires researching qualitative and quantitative methods. Regular analysis and adaptation strategies effectively help customers exactly where they expect you.

The right sales strategy starts with the question: where and how do people make purchasing decisions? If the client trusts friends, use word of mouth. If he compares offers on the Internet, focus on SEO and content marketing. If he is attracted by emotions, participate in events, collaborate with bloggers.

Brands that clearly understand how their audience makes decisions see greater growth without breaking the bank.

5. Scaling: How to Make a Business Work on More Than Just Enthusiasm?

Business growth is not just about increasing sales, but building a system that works stably.

McDonald’s didn’t become the largest fast food chain because it has the best burgers. It became number one because it created a clear model that can be easily scaled.

  • Unified quality standards.
  • Automated processes.
  • A franchising system that allows you to quickly open new outlets.

Companies that grow from startups into major brands rely not on chaotic growth, but on consistency. The sooner a clear operating model is built, the easier it is to scale without a drop in quality.

Marketing won’t save a weak product

You can invest millions in advertising, you can buy conferences from bloggers, you can launch “hype” content… but if the product is weak, it will still stagnate.

The most famous marketing is a product that people actually want

Steve Jobs

Conclusion: instead of thinking, “how can we become more visible”, think “why should people choose us?”

If the answer to this question is not obvious, the problem is not in marketing, but in the product itself. You can find more useful information about brand development in the blog of the best SMM agency from the UAE.