Brand Erosion

Whether it’s the earth, our bodies, or business; erosion is inevitable. Brands succumb to the same forces that slowly eat away at all of creation. Just as the sea, wind, and rain can erode a mountain bit-by-bit, our brands can be eroded by elements of the psyche.

Since your brand is the perception of your business and all that it means to someone, this perception is molded together by many considerations like experiences, associations, and preconceived notions. Just as a perception may be a cocktail of ingredients that create such a thing, there are psychological forces that erode it into a crumbling mess.

Let’s be clear that erosion isn’t immediate; it’s slow, like decay, as it eats away little by little. You may not even notice until the erosion until a large chunk falls off like a cliff falling into the sea below or a sand castle dissolving in the slow, rising tide. These forces can be sneaky and that’s what makes them deadly… here’s my unofficial list of forces that erode brands:

Peak-end Rule:

We remember “peak” — special or intense — moments like a final scene or ending better than general moments in between. Your brand falls victim to this. You may provide amazing service but at the crucial moment, you drop the ball or fail to make it special enough, spoiling the entire experience (and perception) or leaving it forgetable..

Halo Effect:

This is more of the “horns” side of the effect where a negative decision or action by your brand spills over into unrelated areas of your business. Like a halo, it radiated outward and affects other parts. If you’re awful at one thing, we assume you’re bad at something else as well, even if it is completely unrelated. We are human so we make that assumption due to our nature in wanting to protect ourselves from further negative experiences.

Negativity Bias:

Similarly, humans have an incredible knack for recalling negative events better than positive ones. Yes, this applies to your brand and the experience you provide customers as well. They will more readily recall those times you made a mistake over those times you went “above and beyond”.

Overconfidence Effect:

This falls on the business as it is our overconfidence in our knowledge, ability, or performance that does not match reality. Reminds me of the guy who thinks he is suave and making eyes at women all night when in reality they are all creeped out by him and have zero interest. This same thing happens to businesses.

Although these may fly under the radar on the day-to-day, founders and marketers must be aware of their constant force on brands. It’s not just a matter of perception as a matter of the posture and awareness of the business and its operations as well. This is equally important because business and brand work hand-in-hand. Although this could be a good wake up call to take note of these forces, I believe it also is an opportunity for the prudent founder.

These forces have equally powerful counterforces that the brand can leverage. Simply start by being self aware, then taking it one step farther to actually counteract these forces. For example, ensuring a climactic “peak end” to the engagement that will be memorable or something the audience can talk about. This is why Disneyland ends each day with fireworks. Another example is managing reputation through deliberate associations that leverage the Halo Effect. Of course, you can’t micro-manage anything, but any attempt is better than none. Just consider that any effort you put in to combat these forces are multiplied by the lack of effort your competitors are applying.

Don’t let your brand become victim to the invisible forces that cause it to erode. Use them to your brand’s advantage!