12 most brand-damning moves you can make

Running a marketing agency focused on small business means each day brings a mix of excitement, fulfillment and, sometimes, head-slapping infuriation.

Lots of small businesses can’t—or don’t—have a dedicated marketing professional, which is understandable. However, doing things that actively destroy or deteriorate your brand is not.

Here are 12 things to avoid:

1. Not having a logo.

Do you think I’m making this one up? I’m not. I regularly run into businesses that have never committed to a logo. Last year I had a client who has been in business for 40 years, and its biggest problem is that it had no market recognition. For 40 years the client squandered the opportunity to build an identity because it never wanted to pay for a logo.

2. Changing your logo too much.

Changing your logo every so many years is just as bad as having no logo. Yes, it’s OK to refresh your logo if it’s so 1980s you can’t stand it, but frequent changes mean you never earn recognizable status.

3. Not having any brand imaging.