Just like a popular saying, “To err is to human.” Virtually everyone makes mistakes at one point of their life because no one is infallible. The mistakes we make however, leave an indelible mark on us, our businesses/brands and many other things that are possibly associated with us. Even the greatest and successful brands/businesses make mistakes that could possibly end up costing a whole lot of money, publicity or goodwill amongst customers, how much more the startups? Although the brands/businesses that are already successful can still make some corrections to make every thing right, however, doing this for startups could be very difficult because they haven’t gained any ground, hence, the need to avoid making expensive mistakes!

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How can you then know your brand, business or company is dying? Below are the signs to know your brand, company or business is dying, failing or going under:

1. Low Sales

This should be the first thing to watch out for. This could be a sudden decrease in sales or sales lower than expected. Moreover, a business will never thrive when it starts experiencing this since there is undoubtedly no inflow of money to cover surfacing expenses, especially payment of employees.

Low sales, once noticed, the company needs to make quick or in depth study for the determination of the root cause of such problem. The result of the study gives a hint regarding where the problem is coming from. However, if the cause of the problem remains unknown, the company might be running at lost and eventually go bankrupt.


2. Increase in Customers Complaints.

One of the major pointers to that you’re missing something and doing things wrong is the backlash from customers. There is this general belief about customers being always right. Of course, they are and need to be treated as such. They must be given this awareness of always rightor else, they move away from your brand to another who is ready to treat them as such. Funny enough, you end up losing at the long run.

There is a direct link between customers satisfaction and brand growth; they are directly proportional to each other. When your customer is satisfied, happy and delighted at the service you have rendered them, they will in turn tell someone else about you; best way to grow your business because they are the one doing the advertisement. However, once you are not able to render them quality services, they will also tell someone else about you, but this time, destructively!

Moreover, when you have a lot of emails and feedback from customers being unsatisfied with your services, it’s time make some amendments, else, your business is at the verge of failing. The worst place a brand can find itself is not receiving feedback from customers. The next worse place is not responding to their complaints!

3. Reduction In Customer Interaction
One of the major metrics of measuring the healthiness and well-being of a brand is determining how well the brand is interacting with it’s customers. This is a key component to growth. If a brand/business/company communicating with their customers is not receiving any feedback from them, such an entity is in a very poor state as the need regarding when, why and how to go about making necessary changes might not be known.

One of the first thing you should established early when starting your brand is feedback. Never forget that. Ensure that your customers are able to reach you, and handle their complaints with much care. If you don’t have a system in place for this, you’ve shot yourself in the leg, automatically crippling your chances for growth.



Continue reading on https://okadabooks.com/book/about/5_signs_of_a_dying_brand/27180 or http://notjustbrands.com/5-signs-of-a-dying-brand/