8 quick ways to make consumers hate your brand

There are seven deadly sins here, and one for bad measure. You do NOT want to venture into that eighth circle of hell.

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Brand equity is the measure of trust built up over time through an interconnected series of favorable actions.

This equity, often amounting to billions in additional profit, is what separates a branded product from its generic rival. Unfortunately, what took years to build can be destroyed (or at least severely damaged) in an inglorious burst of branded incompetency.

Recognizing that brands have long sabotaged themselves via a host of slowly eroding sins, I offer this article to spotlight the flash faux pas that instantaneously dissolve loyalty and ignite brand hatred. This hatred, often expressed with the exclamatory #EpicFail on social media, is typically motivated by one of the following sinful ineptitudes. Some might seem laughable—unless, of course, they’ve happened to you.

Sloth: “We care about you—your call will be answered in 600 minutes.”

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